The Fox & The Houndour
by Mog Anarchy
Summary: An unexpected set of friends, accidentally crossing paths now have to forget all of their differences, and devote all of their efforts and energies into fighting for what they love.
1. Bumps, Bullies, Berries & Bathtubs!

**The Fox & The Houndour**

**Mog Anarchy**

**I**

Crawling slowly through the damp, emerald grass – the small canine felt the soft touch of the soil seeping in between his paws; the gentle patter of tiny raindrops falling onto his head, stroking his brow carefully, like a caring mother with a cloth.

The towering trees upon either side of the Berry Forest stabbed their rough, harsh fingers through the frozen mist, trying to reach out and grab him – and smother him with stinging splinters.

He trembled in fear, as he watched his shaking breaths rise into the air, condensing into a frigid fog, numbing his very senses and making his blood trickle slowly through his veins.

As the sticky earth stuck fast to the soles of his paws, tiny larvae wriggling up his shins and endless swarms of mosquitoes encircling his head, the tiny creature shook with terror, his breaths becoming even more laboured and passive, his throat drying painfully, as if it were being rubbed with sandpaper.

He dived to the ground, burying his pale face in the dark earth – as a rapid flock of Ledian hurtled through the air above him, slicing the mist into several jagged pieces, which fell to the ground as tiny shatters of cold glass.

"First you head to Kanto… A-A-And then you go to J-J-Johto…" He whimpered to himself, repeating an old coping mechanism that he had overheard a terrified junior Trainer singing softly to himself at the Three Island Port; when he'd finished off his care parcel of Lava Cookies, and was beginning to feel rather homesick.

The tiny animal felt beyond homesick. He felt nauseated with air-sickness, travel-sickness, and every other kind of vomit inducing nausea that existed. A burning rush of acid began welling up in his throat, like a venomous Poison Fang; and began scorching his mouth.

After he had wiped his mouth on a soft mound of moss, and carefully covered his small puddle of fear soup with several kicks of the damp mud, he turned and began frantically hopping away in the opposite direction, wincing in pain as drops of sweat began trickling into his eyes.

He yelped in pain, feeling his sluggish blood being drained from his back. He cautiously turned his head, noticing a tiny Weedle perched upon his back, its fangs firmly implanted into his neck, slurping up his innards with pleasure.

"G-G-Get off of me…!" The animal whimpered, his eyes beginning to fill up with tears.

The parasite raised his eye level to the canine's own, and he bared his teeth in a smart grin, a stream of scarlet blood running down his chin and dripping into the smooth, ebony fur upon the animal's back.

He flailed about wildly, in a final attempt to remove the vampire from his flesh. The Weedle lost its balance and tumbled onto the ground beside him.

"B-B-Be thankful I'm not a H-Houndoom…" He stammered, his tiny white fangs showing as he spoke.

Just as the Weedle was about to respond – raising his pointed stinger upon his scalp towards the animal's face – a loud shriek filled the forest, followed by a sudden rush of cold air, filled with hundreds of tiny particles of sand and dust.

The canine winced slightly, the sand blowing into his face, scratching at his skin.

When he opened his eyes, the Weedle was laid limply in the beak of a menacing Pidgeotto, droplets of purple blood dripping from his underside, bitter venom seeping out from the stinger's point, and falling to the ground.

The animal chewed nervously upon his bottom lip, as the Pidgeotto rapidly sucked up his prey in his beak, the purple secretions staining his beige feathers a sickly shade of violent violet.

With a quick flick of its brightly coloured head feathers, the Pidgeotto shot the small defenceless creature a cold glance, malice shimmering back at him in his hard, empty eyes. It raised its wings, and swiftly rose into the sky, soaring back up to his perch upon the highest tree of the forest.

Feeling his hind legs begin to tremble, the creature set off running, his soft paws pounding hard upon the muddy ground, flecks of soil flying up into the air and splattering against his frantic fur.

His breath rasped in his throat, his eyes burned with terror, feeling the fur upon his stumpy tail begin to bristle upwards uncomfortably, his skin prickling tightly under the weight of his soft fur.

Hearing the harsh cracks of twigs breaking in two underneath his petrified paws, he began running faster, his short legs sprinting as fast as they could – attempting to find a way out of the foreboding forest.

"Running-off-to-Hoenn--Lead-the-way-to-Sinnoh--" He panted, attempting to remove his emotion of apprehensiveness, and replace it with reassurance.

"Aaah!" He screamed, as his skull cap upon his scalp collided with a hard surface in front of him, the impact driving the breath out of his body, knocking him to the ground.

The something he had bumped against turned to face him, raising its furry eyebrows above its misted, glassy eyes.

"Are you lost…?" It asked, looking down at the trembling Houndour upon the ground below him, his blanched face buried in the mud.

The Houndour gingerly raised his head from the ground, his fur smeared with dirt and sweat. "I… I… I'm…" He stammered, his rough tongue rubbing angrily against the roof of his mouth.

The creature before him gave him an odd look, somewhat of a grimace, showing its tiny pearl teeth; although also somewhat of a pitying despair, shaking his furry head from side to side.

"Stand up." It ordered.

The Houndour didn't dare to argue with the creature's request; he slowly rose onto his four paws, his breath shaking dangerously in his chest, his knees shaking harshly, as his dirty fur stood upon end, prickling in panic.

"You're bleeding." The creature commented, noticing the painful bite marks along his back, and the stinging grazes upon his chin.

"I-I-It's nothing…" The Houndour mumbled, although his wounds were throbbing in pain, rough shreds of grit and gravel that had entered the torn flesh were angrily braising against his skin.

"What's your problem?" The animal before him asked, sneering slightly.

The Houndour didn't respond. He lowered his head slightly in shame, not bearing for this creature to see him cry.

The creature sighed, gingerly placing one of his paws upon his shoulder – his downy fur stroking carefully along his wounds. "I'm Spike." It said.

The Houndour raised his head, his eyes glistening with tears.

Stood before him was a new creature, one he had not seen before upon his island. Its fur was a light shade of brown, larger clumps of fluffy down bunched around his neck like a fancy fur boa. Its ears were broad, the fur in-between them was spiked up, sticking a full three inches in the air; resembling a miniature Mohawk.

Houndour squeaked, not daring to respond.

Spike furrowed his furry brow. "And you are…?" He growled slightly.

"Dour." He mumbled, lowering his head.

"Dour?" Spike repeated, flicking his fur out of his eyes.

Dour nodded, blushing slightly.

"Well that was a well thought out nickname." Spike sniggered.

Dour turned as red as his underside, wishing that he could tug down his skull cap over his eyes. "I… Uh…"

"Aw come on; friendly banter." Spike grinned, giving Dour a nudge.

"Uh... Does that mean we're friends...?" Dour asked, cautiously, his weak knees beginning to quiver.

Spike sneered, curling his lip. "Of course not; imbecile. We're deadly enemies."

"Oh no…" Dour squeaked, taking a step backwards, grimacing as he felt the mud squish between his paws.

"Loser." Spike mocked, giving Dour's round, wet nose a flick with his front paw.

It wasn't a harsh bat, but Dour winced all the same; feeling his black button nose begin to tingle slightly from the impact.

"Aww… Are you gonna cry again?" Spike smiled, flicking his floppy fur out of his eyes once more.

Dour sniffled, shaking his head weakly, although his lip was quivering, and his eyes were beginning to burn.

"Come on." Spike groaned, sounding a little guilty. "I wasn't being deliberately mean."

Dour nodded weakly, but he still felt rather doubtful. "I-I-I know you weren't…"

"Why are you here, anyway…?" Spike asked, eventually, lowering his eyes.

"…I was…" Dour stammered.

"Yes?"

"Hiding…" He mumbled.

"From what?"

"A… A big b-bunch of b-bikers came to p-port; and…"

"They wanted to capture you; right?" Spike asked. "Yup; been there. This obnoxious little brat on Four Island wanted me - wanted to evolve me into a Glaceon; 'to impress Lorelei' or something."

"What's a Glaceon…?" Dour mumbled, blushing slightly.

"A frozen fox, by the sound of it." Spike smiled. "Screw that; I'm happy as a boring ol' Eevee."

"So _that's_ what you are…" Dour mumbled.

"I am." Spike smirked, watching as Dour began blushing again.

"…I didn't mean for you to hear that…" He said quietly, hanging his head.

Spike ignored him, and carried on regardless: "Well; I don't like the idea of being stuffed into a freezer - so I stowed away on the Seagallop Three, and I came here."

"I'm afraid of those ships…" Dour mumbled. "They go so fast…"

"You'd have an accident, eh?" Spike smiled.

Dour nodded awkwardly, his face burning.

"I've been here for two days now. I'm getting a bit bored." Spike admitted.

"I've lived here all my life…" Dour squeaked.

"And how long's that?" Spike asked, raising an ear.

"Fourteen years…" Dour muttered.

"Jeez!" Spike exclaimed. "I could never stay in the same place for so long!"

Dour shrugged. "It's not like I can leave…"

"Sure you can." Spike grinned, nudging him. "You can come with me. I came here to stock up on supplies."

He reached behind his fluffy tail, and pulled out a small leather bag with intricate red stitching. He opened it carefully, revealing several dozen multicoloured berries.

Dour dragged his eyes away from the mouth-watering arrangement of enticing fruit, attempting to ignore his growling stomach - and returned his eye level to Spike.

"Come with you…?" He asked, his throat crackling.

Spike smiled, dipping his paw into the leather pouch, and pulling out a large pink berry, two emerald-green leaves sprouting from the top.

"I'm leaving this island, come nightfall… I'm bound for another." Spike said, gripping the berry tightly in his front paw.

"…If you wish to leave; and come out with me, you're more than welcome to." He said gruffly, bringing back his front leg, and squashing the berry against Dour's forehead.

Dour grimaced, feeling the sticky juice sliding down his face, the thick clumps of flesh encrusted upon his face, the leaves plastered above his eyebrows.

"But of course… If you want to mope around this dull ol' place for the rest of your life, then so be it." Spike shrugged, stuffing a bright blue Oran berry into his open jaws.

He chomped on it intently, his dark eyes scanning Dour closely; focusing in on his tiny, dirtied paws, his banded hind legs, his knees knocking together. His soft, crimson underside, surrounded by neatly layered strands of fine black fur, plastered to his skin by his copious amount of perspiration which had been expelled from his pores recently. Dour's short, stumpy tail, stood up briskly to attention - like a radio antennae, and his rounded face, his expression filled with fear.

His harsh jaws were tensed in worry, his small pointed fangs overhanging his quivering bottom lip - as a tiny droplet of drool trickled along his rough tongue, and splashed out onto the ground. His nose twitched nervously every so often, sleuthing the area for any scent of a new, incoming threat. His ears were erect, pointed upwards at either side of his hardened skull cap - its previous shine dulled by the mud, grass, Pecha berry juice and damp sweat.

His eyes were shimmering gently against the tiny cracks of light, seeping in through the openings in the canopy of leaves above their heads, treading neat pathways through the dampened grass below. They glowed gently, reflecting Spike's own penetrating glare back at him, the rebound intensified by the glassed teardrops that were frozen inside Dour's eyelids - ready to burst like the walls of a weir at any given moment.

"I'm heading to Six Island." Spike mumbled at last, feeling slightly uneasy at Dour's current pitiful, pleading expression.

Dour nodded. "I've heard of there… Lostelle showed me her map…"

"Map of the Sevii Islands, right?" Spike asked, raising his eyebrows. "Well; at least you're not completely clueless."

Dour still looked doubtful.

"You don't want to leave; do you?" Spike asked, narrowing his eyes.

Dour said nothing, but lowered his head, his skull cap parallel to Spike's face - so that the Eevee was staring into the eyes of a skull-shaped bone helmet.

"Well, I can't make you." Spike grumbled.

He turned, and began walking in the opposite direction.

After several metres, he stopped and turned, glancing over his shoulder.

"If you change your mind… I'll be at Three Island Port… Until six PM." He paused. "And then, if you haven't came… You won't see me again."

Spike tossed his hair, and walked solemnly on, his long tail swishing from side to side, as he waded through the long grass - leaving Dour stranded alone in the centre of Berry Forest.

* * *

"Oh Dour!"

Dour raised his head, removing his gaze from the gravelled pathway below his paws. He turned to the direction of the sound.

A young girl, dressed in a cute blue pinafore dress with an orange ribbon was standing on her doorstep; her long rose-coloured hair tied back neatly in twin pigtails.

'Lostelle…' Dour thought, a lump appearing in his rough throat.

The sound of the girl's buckle-over shoes pounding against the gravel path reached Dour's erected ears - as he was frozen to the spot, not daring to wander out of Lostelle's sight.

"Dour; you're filthy!" Lostelle exclaimed, wrinkling her nose, as she gazed down forlornly at the dirt-encrusted Pokémon before her.

Dour whimpered slightly, as Lostelle placed her hand daintily around his back, and tugged him towards her house.

"You're getting a bath Dour." She said sternly, closing her front door behind them both.

'Oh joy…' Dour thought, chewing on his lip nervously.

Dour had always hated water - and his inability to swim didn't aid his confidence levels, when he was immersed in the clear, wet substance.

* * *

"Arghh!!" Dour spluttered, feeling the soap suds entering his nose and ears, as he was being briskly scrubbed along his back and belly with a thick scrubbing brush, scraping away every single particle of shameful dirt from his fine fur.

"Do hush, Dour." Lostelle scolded, tipping a cupful of warm water over his head, rinsing the bubbles from his skull cap. "You don't want to walk around smelling like a Grimer; do you?"

Dour kept his eyes firmly shut, wincing in pain as Lostelle began rubbing at his muddy paws with a coarse piece of sapphire-coloured flannel.

He was bobbing dangerously in a tub filled with warm, soapy water - in the far corner of Lostelle's kitchen, whilst she scrubbed him clean, wiping away the debris from his previous adventures in the Berry Forest.

"Were you trying to break berries with your head, Dour?" Lostelle asked, shaking her head in despair, as she wiped away the sticky berry gunk from Dour's forehead with the flannel. "They're not like nuts you know - they don't need cracking open."

Dour felt his cheeks redden; now feeling moronic.

'Thanks Spike…' He growled in his mind.

"There." Lostelle smiled, placing her flannel down upon the sideboard, admiring her handiwork. "Good as new."

Dour grimaced slightly, staring down at the muddied water he was sitting in, not realising how dirty he had actually been.

"Don't you look adorable?" Lostelle gushed, giggling to herself, as she clasped her hands together, admiring the soggy Houndour, sitting dejectedly in the metal bathtub, droplets of water rolling down his face and dripping from his ears.

Slipping her hands gently underneath Dour's front legs, Lostelle scooped him carefully from the water, setting him down softly upon a furry down blanket beside the fireplace.

"You sit there and dry off." She instructed, hauling up the heavy metal tub and making for the back door - grunting slightly under its weight.

"I have a present for you." She smiled, nodding her head in his direction, before the door closed behind her, blocking the harsh draught that had started to creep in from the door crack.

Dour sighed, staring down at his damp paws, resting gently upon the blanket - glowing softly in the warm glow of the crackling fire.

"Spike…" Dour mumbled to himself, glancing nervously behind him at Lostelle's front door - almost as if he could see right through it, staring out onto Three Island Port.

"Would he really leave without saying goodbye…?" Dour asked himself, gently rubbing his forehead with his front paw - the very area where Spike had thumped him with the berry. The absence of the sticky glop made Dour feel extremely lonely. It had remained there as a memorial of his time spent with Spike; but now it had vanished, washed away down to the depths of the drains - never to be seen again.

"…I only knew him for a few minutes…" Dour continued, musing to himself. "Yet… It feels like he was my only friend."

"Dour?"

Dour raised his head sheepishly, noticing Lostelle towering above him.

"Talking to yourself?" She smiled, rubbing his head affectionately.

Dour growled in the back of his mind, thoughts of pulling away from her filling his skull - but he could never bring himself to act hostile towards the one who adored him so much.

"I'm so glad Daddy let you stay here, Dour." Lostelle whispered, lying down beside him, burying her face in his muzzle.

Dour winced slightly, his mind returning to Spike. '…I can't leave Spike… But… I can't leave Lostelle, either…' He thought, chewing his lip.

"Daddy won't let me train Pokémon for real - but I'm so happy he lets you stay here." Lostelle continued, reaching in her pocket, and pulling out a dusty, red Pokéblock.

Dour tried to smile, as he allowed the ancient confectionary be slid in-between his lips. He sucked it thoughtfully, the somewhat stale taste drying hard upon his tongue.

"I can't bear the thought of you being alone in that forest by yourself at night." Lostelle mumbled, entwining her fingers within his fur.

'Neither can I…' Dour thought, forcing the rough cube of crushed berries, sugar and dust down his throat.

"Oh yes!" Lostelle suddenly exclaimed, causing Dour to jump. "Your present."

She reached down into her pocket, and tugged out a tiny leather collar; a crimson red, the exact shade of Dour's own blood, that was now spilt upon the soil of the Berry Forest. Around the edges, seventeen tiny spikes were protruding from the leather, sticking out several centimetres.

Lostelle smiled to herself, as she busied herself, wrapping the collar around Dour's neck, and tying up the fastening.

"It suits you." She grinned. "Makes you look so tough."

'Tough?!' Dour thought, scoffing. 'Even with a collar, a leather jacket, sunglasses and biker boots - I'd still look like a baby.'

"Do you like it?"

Dour nodded slightly, although cautiously, thinking in his mind he would be prone to stabbing himself with his new weaponry around his neck.

Lostelle sighed happily, rubbing her soft cheek against Dour's belly, embracing the warmth of the fire, and the soft drum of Dour's heartbeat against her ear.

Dour gulped, looking up at the silver clock upon the wall. - 5:42.

'…Just make out you need to answer nature's call…' Dour thought, his hind legs beginning to quiver.

Dour had never dared to venture down to Three Island Port after dark. He had overheard dreadful tales about criminals and kidnappers lurking within shadows - stowing away from island to island on the Seagallop ships - turning over the crew, and taking the ships for joyrides.

'I'd rather eat a Caterpie than get involved with that…' Dour mumbled to himself, secretly wishing he wasn't such a coward, and would dare to do outrageous things, and pull insane stunts - like he imagined Spike would.

'Spike!' His mind shouted again, reminding him of the rapid minute hand, whirling around the face of the clock - creating a black hole to eternity.

"Lostelle, I need to go outside." Dour barked.

"Excuse me, Dour?" Lostelle asked, her eyebrows raised in confusion. "I can't understand you."

Dour groaned, struggling up from his comfortable spot - before doing an imitation of someone with a bladder the size of a Brazil nut, after drinking several pints of water.

"Oh!" Lostelle exclaimed, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, off you go then."

Dour breathed a sigh of relief, darting out of the door, glaring down at his paws pounding upon the rough, gravelled pathway.

"I'm coming Spike…!" Dour panted, droplets of drool trickling down his chin, his tiny tongue hanging out of one side of his jaws as he ran on.

* * *

Dour skidded to a halt, his paws stirring up the spiny shards of cracked seashells and rugged pebbles mixed in with the saffron sands of the Three Island Port.

He scanned the area curiously, squinting hard against the darkness - the usually golden sands being displayed to him as a dull grey; the calm seas, lapping at the shoreline, now turned a dark shade of ebony, almost as if pure hatred was washing onto the island with every movement of the tide.

Dour shivered, realising how dark it was. "Err…" He stammered, feeling the fur upon his neck prickle up. "S-Spike?"

He continued scanning the area, frowning at the picket fence, surrounding the shore, resembling impaled spears, embedded in the ground - a brutal kill from a Neanderthal hunter.

Dour gulped, feeling the warm touch of breath blowing upon his neck. He cautiously turned his head, feeling his blood beginning to run sluggishly down his veins.

A sudden flash of white fangs caught his eye - surrounded by a thick mess of bristled fur; two hard, dark eyes, cold as blackened glaciers staring back at him.

"Boo." - It said, a cold, greasy voice slithering out from behind the gnarled fangs.

Dour screamed, tumbling over backwards, bumping his head against the wooden pier.

"D-Don't kill me!" He pleaded, feeling a hot sprig of tears rushing to his eyes.

A thundering echo sound filled the air - six identical chimes, crashing hard against the clouds, vibrating hard against Dour's ears.

The death clock.

Perish song.

Time up.

Game over.

'Spike…' Dour sighed, hearing the foghorn of Seagallop Seven, pulling up in the harbour behind him.

"So, you were after that boat, were you?!" The voice spat, embedding its claws into Dour's shoulders, pressing his skull against the ground.

"I-I-I… I was… B-B-But, please-"

"Well…" The voice snickered, sounding strangely gentle, "So was I."

With a quick scraping sound, the head of a match being struck against the rough surface of the splintered planks - the face of the monster was suddenly illuminated in a tiny burst of orange flame - the cold eyes immediately melting in warmth, the bared fangs now curling into a soft smile.

"Heya Dour." Spike snickered, flicking his fur away from his eyes. "Didn't think you'd show up."

Dour ground his teeth together in fury, turning purple with embarrassment.

"…Spike!" He spat, feeling a scorching scream welling up in his throat. "You-"

"Whoa, cool it Dour." Spike grinned, rolling off him, and picking himself up, brushing the grains of sand from his fur.

Dour roared loudly, expelling a burning mass of hot embers from his throat, smoke billowing from his nostrils, white ashes tumbling to the ground.

Spike's eyes flashed with fear, as he quickly ducked to the ground, narrowly avoiding the fire-breath attack - hot sparks singeing his bushy tail.

"Dour!" Spike wailed, raising his two front paws in defence. "Chill out!"

Dour lowered his head, saliva and ashes dribbling down his chin. "Sorry." He mumbled, wincing as he felt his throat beginning to tingle.

Spike grinned, dusting down his paws. "Well, if you want to play like that…"

With a loud screech, Spike leapt into the air, hurtling down upon Dour's back, knocking him to the ground, as Spike pinned his front legs to the floor with his hind legs - his hind legs with his furry tail.

"Try not to cross me." Spike warned, opening his jaws, revealing his jagged teeth, droplets of saliva trickling down his tongue. He brought his fangs down upon Dour's neck, giving him a playful bite - not powerful enough to draw blood, but Dour still yelped in pain, all the same.

"You really should learn to control that Ember-temper of yours." Spike giggled, giving Dour a quick bat across the face with his front paws.

"I'm sorry…" Dour whispered, his nose beginning to run, his neck throbbing in agony, his cheeks stinging harshly with hatred, as his bitter tears braised against his sores.

Spike sneered, stepping off Dour's chest, tossing his head. "Whatever Dour."

Dour sighed, tears overflowing from his eyeballs, dampening his cheeks, as his nose began spouting like a faucet.

"You always cry." Spike scoffed, shaking his head.

Dour lowered his head, greeting Spike with his hollow, melancholy face of his skull cap.

"Augh…" Spike grimaced, a sour sense of guilt punching at his stomach.

He sneaked over to Dour, wrapping one of his paws around his shoulders. "Umm… Sorry bud." Spike mumbled, sounding awkward.

Dour blinked, not bearing to look at the apologizing Eevee stood before him.

"Oh come on… You're making me feel awful." Spike admitted, beginning to turn red in shame.

Dour raised his head, the moaning expression of his skull cap being replaced with his glistening glass-like eyes, dripping nose, tear-streaked cheeks, and his mouth set in a grim line.

"Good." Dour sniffled, lowering his eyebrows.

"Ach… You a cold man." Spike grumbled, pulling out his berry pouch. He dipped his paw into it, and pulled out a second Pecha berry.

"Don't you even think about it." Dour warned, his tears crystallising into stinging splinters of glass.

Spike looked uncomfortably, as he placed the pink berry into Dour's paw, scratching his forehead slightly, to distract himself.

Dour smiled oddly, glancing down at Spike's offering.

With a quick flick of his paw - Dour was standing back, his eyes shimmering in victory, as Spike bent his head, pink liquid trickling down his forehead, clumps of fruit flesh entwined within his fur.

A few moments later, he raised his head, smiling weakly.

Dour nodded, smiling back.

"Now we're even." Dour smiled.

"A berry for a berry." Spike added, nodding slowly.

* * *

"Take a final look at Three Island, Dour."

"…Final?" Dour whimpered - a pang of guilt punching him directly in his ribs, as he caught sight of the lone light at Lostelle's window.

"That's right." Spike shrugged. "Will we return? Who's to- …Ugh."

* * *

"_Spike! Come on brother, we need to make it home before Gramps realises we're gone!"_

"_Emily wait! Gramps told us never to go into Berry Forest without-"_

"_Well, well, well, what've we got here then?!"_

"_Aww, isn't she cute?"_

"_Spike! Help!"_

"_Emily, no!"_

"**After they took you away; I was never the same."**

* * *

"Spike! Wake up!"

Spike groaned, his eyelids slowly sliding apart, as he fingered the large bump upon the back of his skull.

"You blacked out, there." - Came Dour's frantic whimper. "I thought you'd conked out for sure!"

Spike grimaced, staring up into the shimmering eyes of the creature hanging above him.

"I'm fine." He growled, struggling to stand up. "Engine fumes make me dizzy, that's all."

"Who's Emily?" Dour blurted, unaware of his words.

"What?!" Spike yelled, shoving his face right up against Dour's nose; grinding his teeth together in fury.

"I-I-I'm sorry…" Dour stammered, feeling his legs quiver.

"So you should be." Spike spat, storming off to the edge of the pier, and spitting vehemently into the lapping waves below.

"Spike…?" Dour asked, nervously, almost daring to put a paw around his back.

Spike grunted in response, not bearing for Dour to see his one silent tear, sliding down his face, and dripping into the surf.

* * *


	2. Aggron Aggravation

**II**

"The Seagallop Seven will shortly be departing for Six Island – all passengers wishing to board must present their Rainbow Tickets to supervising crew."

Dour gulped, staring in terror at the pristine-white speed ship docked before him. "B-But, we don't have a Rainbow Ticket…" He whispered, giving Spike a pleading glance.

Spike coughed, shaking his head. "We don't need one. We're stowing away in the cargo hold – no worries, I've done it loads of times."

Dour raised his eyebrows in amazement, despite feeling slightly worried upon Spike's behalf, he couldn't help feeling impressed.

Spike shook his head, stuffing several Chesto berries into his mouth. Despite his somewhat despairing attitude towards Dour – he couldn't help feeling smug.

"Must feel strange, eh Dour? You're leaving your hometown for the first time…" Spike began, his voice crackling slightly.

"Hmm…" Dour muttered, lowering his eyes.

"You're not gonna get all weepy and homesick on me, are you…?" Spike asked, now feeling slightly worried. – He'd never been the emotional sort; and when faced with a melancholy, sadness-stricken Pokémon, he would feel awkward and nervous. He'd never even been able to cope with his own sister – who had been the sort to cry instantly, spontaneously – and often, for no reason at all.

Spike sighed, gazing downwards into the murky harbour waters below his paws – as if his sister's smiling face reflected back at him.

Her soft folded ears – sprinkled with a gentle coating of soft, brown fur. Her dark eyes – set amidst her smooth waves of her cheeks - that always seemed to sparkle softly when they caught the light. Tied around her neck, on a fine length of string, hung her shining charm necklace – both her name, and her brother's name engraved into the centre.

Spike sniffed slowly, rummaging amongst his collar fur, tugging out his own charm locket – gently stroking his paws along the cold, golden surface, smiling softly as he felt the familiar letters of his sister's name stroking against his fingers.

* * *

"_What about this one, big brother?"_

"_That one's just fine, Em'. You're pretty good at finding the best treasures."_

"_Aw shucks; thanks Spike."_

"_Just think of it Emily – we could grow up to become pirates! Sailing the Sevii Islands, plundering all the pearls of Treasure Beach!"_

"_Awesome, big brother! Then we can buy all the Pokésnacks we want!"_

"_Typical you, little Em' – always thinking of your stomach."_

* * *

"Urgh…" Spike groaned, rubbing his temples in irritancy.

He gave a nervous glance back to Dour – hoping he hadn't been speaking out loud again.

Spike breathed a slight sigh of relief, as he noticed Dour sitting several metres away from him, on the opposite edge of the pier – muttering under his breath.

"Kin Island…" Dour mumbled to himself, staring back down the gravelled pathway, leading to the small village; where he had been raised.

"Lostelle…" Dour whimpered, his eyes filling with frigid tears – refusing to leave his eyelids but instead, remained in their frozen position, blurring his vision.

"…Do you want to say goodbye to her?" Spike asked, placing a paw upon Dour's clammy shoulder.

Dour trembled slightly – Spike's sudden inquiry making him jump. He shook his head slowly, a solid tear escaping its imprisonment and dripping down his cheek.

"I couldn't bear it…" Dour mumbled, whimpering slightly.

"…Sounds a bit heartless Dour; leaving without saying goodbye… You might not even see her again." Spike said softly, raising his eyebrows slowly.

Dour sniffed loudly, several more tears escaping from their captivity, and rolling down his face – dripping into the surf forlornly.

"…Lostelle… I'm so sorry…"

* * *

"They're all done with the engine checks… The cargo hold opens in five minutes." Spike commented, squinting at several impatient sailors tapping their feet against the pier, as they were waiting for their next instruction.

"You don't get seasick do you?" Spike questioned, furrowing his eyebrows.

"I don't know… I've never been on a ship before…" Dour mumbled, lowering his head.

Spike slapped his forehead. "Oh yeah… Forgot. Sorry."

"Cargo loaders; please report to your bay."

"Ulp…" Dour gulped, his knees now beginning to tremble.

"Come on Dour – I have my own personal little spot – right behind the Carbos crate." Spike smiled, beckoning for Dour to follow.

Dour quivered slowly, watching as Spike dashed up onto the pier – and stood with one of his paws on the ship's hull – ready to dive into the darkness.

"On the count Dour; one two three – you jump, okay?"

Dour nodded slowly, a large lump appearing in his throat.

"One…"

Dour gritted his teeth, taking several steps backwards into the gritty sand – ready to take a run-up.

"Two…"

With a small grunt in the back of his throat, Dour placed his front paw forward, lifting his back paws slightly off the ground – his tail bristling upright.

"Three--!!"

Dour gave a loud scream – thrusting his front paws forward into the sand, his back paws kicking up tiny flecks of the yellow grains into the air.

"Run for it-"

"Dour!"

Dour suddenly skidded to a halt, his soft paws scraping harshly against the splintered pier – embedding tiny splinters into his delicate flesh.

"…That's what I was going to say…" Spike muttered, stepping back from the hull, and placing his paws softly back onto the pier.

Dour gulped, slowly turning - averting his eyes from the ivory-coloured shuttle ship before him - his dark, misted eyes now being faced with the familiar sight of Lostelle - her hair tousled with distraught, as if she'd been running her hands through it. Her lips were quivering slowly, her fists clenched gently - as her eyes were brimming with worrisome tears - slowly dripping down her cheeks.

"…Augh no…" Dour whimpered, letting his stumpy tail drop limply downwards, his ears drooping in shame. He shook his head, slowly stumbling over his trembling toes - as he scuttled nervously back to the end of the pier, where Lostelle was waiting.

'I'm so sorry Lostelle…' Dour thought, as he stopped at her feet, his eyes lowered shamefully - his head bent.

"Dour…" Lostelle sniffled, scooping him up gently in her soft arms, slowly stroking her fingertips along his wet nose - several more of her tears rolling down her face.

"…I was so worried Dour…" Lostelle sobbed, burying her sodden face into Dour's warm muzzle.

Dour squirmed in discomfort - a sour pang of guilt slithering down his throat.

"You disappeared all of a sudden… I thought something had got you…" Lostelle whimpered, tears streaming down her face. "…I thought you wouldn't come back…" - Her voice trailed off.

"Jeez, talk about a cry-baby." Spike muttered under his breath, stepping daintily along the jagged slotted timber of the pier.

"Leave her alone!" Dour growled, turning his head in Spike's direction - baring his tiny fangs.

Lostelle felt Dour stiffen with rage beneath her arms.  
"…What's wrong Dour?" She asked, lowering her eyes to ground level - noticing Spike watching them both.

"New friend, Dour?" She asked him, giving Spike a worried glance.

Dour didn't respond - but Spike looked very pleased with himself - smirking sinisterly all across his furry face.

Lostelle shook her head - now noticing the large Seagallop ship docked before them.  
She furrowed her eyebrows, it now becoming clear to her. "…You were trying to leave."

Dour squeaked, a strong force of guilt thumping him in the chest - as Lostelle gazed down sorrowfully into his eyes - her own sapphire-blue, widened eyes, filled with glistening tears.

"…I'm sorry." Dour whimpered, his stomach clenching tightly.

Lostelle blinked, a small tear droplet falling from her eyelid - and splashing onto Dour's nose. "…I understand, Dour…"

Dour raised his eyebrows in confusion. "You do…?"

Lostelle grimaced - Dour's last words only being audible to her as two quiet grunts - but the look in his eyes said it all.

"…You've been here for fourteen years… You want to see the world - right…?"

Dour nodded, despite feeling awful - and having an overwhelming fear of the world outside his little island hanging above his head like an enraged Electrode.

"…You there; Mr. Eevee." Lostelle called, beckoning to Spike with her free hand.

Spike grunted, strutting forward along the pier - stopping a few centimetres away from Lostelle's feet.

She bent down onto her knees - the sharp splinters digging into her delicate kneecaps; although she paid them no heed.

"…Take Dour with you."

Spike blinked, looking astonished - Dour did too.

"Don't look so surprised… I think it'd be best for him to get off this island… See the world…" Lostelle burbled - trying hard not to cry again.

"Maybe it'll toughen him up a little…" Lostelle smiled, giving his nose a playful flick.

Dour blushed slightly, trying to squirm out of Lostelle's tight grasp.

"Mr. Eevee… Could you do that for me?"

Spike nodded, raising his paw in an A-OK sign - his fangs bared in a soft smile.

"Course, Ms. Lostelle." He responded. Despite Lostelle's inability to understand him, she smiled as if she had understood.

"…Look after him for me." Lostelle whispered, several more tears slipping from her eyes.

"…Don't worry - I'll bring him back to see you." Spike smiled - nodding his head.

Lostelle smiled, understanding again. "…Well um."

"…Anything you need to tell me? Seeing as how I'm his guardian now?" Spike enquired - casting Dour an odd glance.

Lostelle hadn't understood Spike's question, but she answered it regardless:

"Well… Dour's allergic to Wepear berries… Make sure he doesn't ever eat them…"

Spike nodded, taking a mental note.

"…He gets nightmares sometimes; try not to get him too excited before bedtime."

Spike nodded again - watching as Dour began to blush painfully.

"Don't let him drink too much lemonade - it gives him dreadful gas." Lostelle mumbled, looking disgusted.

"…Stop it…!" Dour whispered, beginning to get very irritated.

"…Don't ever use Aloe Vera soap on his skin - it brings him out in an awful rash on his-"

"Lostelle!" Dour barked - his cheeks burning hotter than his Ember attack.

"Aw, okay Dour - I know I'm embarrassing you." Lostelle giggled, tickling him under his furry chin.

Spike was sniggering harshly behind his paws - Dour looking like he was ready to bite someone.

Lostelle gave a small sniff - setting Dour gently down on his feet - beside Spike.

"…Well… I guess this is goodbye, Dour." She sniffled, her eyes beginning to brim over.

Dour smiled gently, leaping up onto her knee, and stroking her damp cheek with his soft fur - carefully wiping away her tears.

"…Thank you." He said quietly, baring his tiny fangs in a gentle smile.

Lostelle grinned back at him, wiping away her remaining tears with the back of her hand - seeming to understand.

"Don't have too much fun." She smiled, embracing him in her final soft hug.

"Don't worry - I'll keep him in order." Spike snickered, saluting with one of his front paws.

Both the fox and the Houndour gave Lostelle a final nod, before turning on their back heels - and bounding along excitedly to the back cargo hold entrance.

"Goodbye Dour…!" Lostelle called, waving both arms majestically. "Good luck guys!"

"See ya around!" Spike called, waving his tiny paws - as Dour stood beside him, also waving.

The cargo hold door slowly closed upwards; obscuring their vision of the girl standing at the edge of the pier - the dimming sunlight picking out her highlights in a gentle glow - until their view was obstructed by darkness.

* * *

"Dour…? …Dour? You okay bud…?"

Spike's usual arrogant, gruff tone was currently being replaced with that of a small element of fear and concern - as he looked over the shaking and distraught creature huddled in a corner beside him, his skin blanching white, his eyes widened in terror.

"…I… I… I can't take it… The roar of the engine… The rumble of the-"

Spike grimaced slightly, placing a paw firmly upon Dour's shoulder, giving his soft flesh a gentle squeeze of reassurance.

Dour gulped, his eyes shimmering in fear - as his mouth began filling with saliva, cold sweat pouring down his back.

The walls of the cavernous iron monster whirred and vibrated harshly - as the battered hull of the ship obliterated though the mellow seas before it - sending crashing waves along either side, as it parted every droplet of water in its tracks.

"Dour…" Spike whispered, fumbling clumsily in the enveloping darkness contained within the sealed cargo hold - feeling frantically for his furry friend.

"…Help me…!" Dour shrieked, pressing his chin to the shaking iron tiles of the ground, his ears plastered to his head, his eyes squeezed so tightly shut - his eyelids were in danger of retracting into the crevasses of his skull.

Spike jumped slightly, startled; as his paws made contact with Dour's quivering face - damp with tears, sweat and saliva; and also as frigid as ice.

He quickly wrapped his four paws around Dour's body, allowing the Houndour to bury his face into his warm muzzle - his soft layers of downy fur blocking out the worst of the ship's rumbles and roars.

"It's okay… It's okay…" Spike repeated multiple times - as he began gently rocking the trembling creature within his arms into a soothing lull.

"…It'll all be over in a few minutes." Spike whispered, slowly stroking his paw along Dour's ear.

"…_**You are my Castform… My only Castform… You make it sunny… When skies are grey…"**_

Dour raised his head curiously, confused at the odd noise that Spike was making.

"Yeah, I know you're not a Castform - but it wouldn't make sense if I said _Houndour_. - And it wouldn't rhyme." Spike smiled, giving Dour a gentle flick upon his nose.

"…My grandpa used to sing it to me and-…" - His voice trailed off.

* * *

"_Sing another one Gramps!"_

"_Emily… Jeez - let the man sleep; it's half two in the morning!"_

"…_Someone's drank too much lemonade again…"_

"_Pwease gramps? One more song?"_

"_Oh okay little Em' - just because it's you."_

"_**Somewhere… Over the rainbow… Ho-Oh flies… Lugia sleeps…"**_

* * *

"Augh… Stop haunting my memories Emily…….!"

"…Emily?" Dour questioned, a slight tremble in his tone - expecting Spike to yell at him again for muttering the three soft syllables.

Spike grimaced, sucking in a cold breath between his teeth. He lowered his head, nodding slowly.

"…Yes."

Spike sighed, bending his head further - so his chin became buried in Dour's shoulder.

"…It's been three years since I last saw her… I'm still sailing round the Sevii Islands every week… Just to see if I can catch a glimpse of her cute face again…"

Dour nodded, seeming to understand. "…You'll find her someday…"

Spike sighed, sniffling once. "…I hope so Dour…" - He whispered, gazing up at the dank corner of the cargo hold; as if the bright, cheerful face of a young Eevee reflected back at him - pulling her usual trademark childish face, her eyes lighting a diminished beacon within his heart.

"…I hope so…"

* * *

"See, that wasn't so bad - was it?" - Spike was saying, his arm flung around Dour's shoulder's; supporting his unbalanced composure, as he staggered clumsily along the pier - the cold sea air of Six Island Port slapping him violently across the face, leaving a sticky residue along his cheeks.

"And you didn't puke, either! I'm surprised!" Spike joked, nudging Dour in the side - as they both placed all four paws down onto the soft sand.

"Aww; don't they look cute? Hey lover boys - The Pokéboy Mansion is on TWO Island!"

Spike blinked, quickly dropping his arm from Dour's shoulder; as if he were as hot as a Torkoal.

"Aw, the Eevee's in denial!" - Mocked the voice again.

Both the angered fox and the bewildered Houndour raised their gaze from the sand they were treading - up to face the monster that was mocking them both.

Spike trembled slightly in fear - whilst Dour was practically melting into liquid terror; as they both gulped, their vision reaching the two immense pillars of iron standing before them both.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." - The loudmouth one snapped - his dark eyes hardening from underneath his colossal spikes, protruding from his steel forehead.

"Now, now Argon - let's leave the young couple to their bidding; they're probably off to Bond Bridge to propose to one another!" Sniggered the second, giving the one he had addressed a sharp nudge with a razor-sharp elbow.

"Go on Dour… Ember 'em." Spike whispered, jabbing Dour in the neck with his tail's tip.

"Forget 'em Argos - They're probably here for a cocktail six."

Argos looked confused, giving the Aggron beside him an odd look.

"…Vodka, peach schnapps, cranberry juice, and orange juice! - _Sex on the beach_!" Argon laughed, flicking a cloud of gritty sand up at the Aggron beside him, with a quick flick of his gigantic tail.

"Oh you two - you're so pathetic!" - Called another voice - which was quickly followed by the rapid stepping of two padded paws pressing down deep into the sand.

"…Holy crap Argos - It's Volvic!" Argon snickered, giving the identical Aggron a nudge.

"…Fear the wrath of the almighty bottled water!" Argos cackled.

"Yeah…" Volvic sneered, folding his arms. "That means a lot coming from somebody named after a catalogue."

Argos blushed, rubbing the back of his skull with his claws. "Yeah well… I…"

The calm and composed creature standing before the two awkward-looking Aggron smirked slowly, his umber eyes glinting sinisterly from beneath his thick eyelids. He rubbed his paws together slowly - a torrent of flickering flames beginning to erupt from around his collar.

"I suggest you leave." The Typhlosion smiled, baring his pointed teeth in a smug grin.

Argon and Argos grumbled under their breath - their gruff voices slowly fading away into the distance; as they shuffled off down the dusty pathway to Six Island village.

"…Thanks." Spike smiled, approaching the Typhlosion with an air of superiority.

"No worries little man - just doing what needed to be done." Volvic smiled - his collar flames dying down to white ashes.

"…If you ever come across Argon and Argos again… And they give you any grief - just let ol' Volvic know… And I'll stick it to those two clowns." Volvic said kindly, giving them both a nod.

"Aye aye." Spike snickered, giving him a salute.

Volvic smiled warmly - turning on his huge heels - and padding off quietly in the opposite direction.

"Wow… All the times I've been here; I never thought I'd get to see those two." Spike grunted, shrugging slightly.

"…Argon and Argos?" Dour squeaked - still trembling.

"Yup… Apparently, they're two of the toughest ruffians on the Sevii Islands…" He paused. "It must be you - you're the bearer of bad luck." Spike smirked, giving Dour a nudge.

Dour tried to smile - although he had a strong, echoing rumble of oncoming danger screaming from within his stomach, that was telling him: Spike couldn't have been more right…

* * *


	3. Poochyena Perserverance

**III**

"Come on Dour; if those two metal-heads come back - you can just Ember 'em!" - Spike was saying, stuffing his cavernous jaws with rough Rawst berries; green goo oozing down his chin.

"…I can't." Dour whispered in response, watching as his paws carefully tread the dusty gravel.

"You had no problem roasting my tail." Spike grunted, waving the blackened tip of his furry tail in front of Dour's face; giving his wet nose a quick bat.

"…But I didn't _mean_ to…" Dour mumbled, sounding ashamed.

Spike shook his head; flicks of his spiky fur tumbling down over his eyes. "I'll never understand you Dour - you'll set a friend on fire, but you won't attack a pair of clods who could squish you with one swipe?"

Dour said nothing - just continued kicking stones out of his path.

Spike continued regardless: "You can see they're pyrophobic; steel sissies. Didn't you see how scared they were when Volvic started scorching?"

'_I_ was scared when Volvic started scorching…' Dour thought, biting his tongue to prevent his words from escaping.

"That Volvic dude's a cool one though… I hear he's in a rescue team somewhere." Spike smiled, his eyes shining. "I heard he was involved in the great Lava Cookie Revolt on Mount Chimney!"

Dour nodded, pretending to understand - but he was hoping that Spike didn't realise he didn't know what a Lava Cookie _or_ a revolt was.

"I'm gonna be a celebrity one of these days." Spike smirked. "Yeah… Just picture the drama! 'Heartbroken Eevee siblings, reunited after three year separation!'"

Dour grimaced, skewing his eyebrows in a puzzled expression.

"Make me a celebrity Emily; and I'll get you that tiara you always wanted!"

Dour scratched his head nervously. "…Into sparkly stuff - is your Emily?"

"Meh; she wanted a silver tiara when she was seven… She's always wanted to take part in a Pokémon Contest over in Heathrome… But that's all the way over in Sinnoh."

Spike sighed. "She always was a curious little cretin - knowing her, she's probably already been there by now."

Dour gulped - noticing Spike's usual soft tone stiffen to a harsher spit.

"Yeah go on Emily; make Gramps proud… Pah! Like you always frickin' did…"

'Jeez… Talk about sibling rivalry…' Dour thought, shaking his head.

Spike grunted harshly, turning to Dour.  
"…What're YOU smirking at?!" He growled; his dark eyes ablaze.

Spike roared, giving Dour a hard shove, knocking him to the ground. Dour tumbled heavily onto his stomach, the impact driving the breath out of his body.

Dour whimpered slightly in pain - his fine black fur now pitted with dust; his deep, sorrowful eyes brimming with bewilderment.

"Don't gimme that look; I've seen it one too many times." Spike snapped, baring his pointed fangs in the trembling creature's direction.

Dour sniffled quietly, bending his head - as two bitter tears slipped out from his eyelids and splashed down into the dust.

He sobbed slowly, still keeping his head lowered - gazing pitifully at the two rough grazes upon his knees - one skinned, one bleeding.

* * *

"_Aw come on; don__'__t cry__…__ It__'__s only a little graze Em__'…"_

_The tiny vixen snorted pathetically - gazing up at her older brother; her deep russet eyes brimming with tears, casting back a watery reflection of Spike__'__s own panicking expression._

"_Aw come here__…__ Let me kiss it better__…"_

_Gently scooping up his tiny sister in his strong paws - Spike held her head close to his chest, rocking her slowly from side to side; whispering softly into her delicate ears._

_Spike carefully took her injured leg in his paws, and placed a tender kiss upon her sore knee - stroking the wound softly with his velvety lips._

_Emily smiled slightly - her fur dampened by tears - small beads of salt water still entwined upon her cheeks. _

"…_I love you Spike__…"_

* * *

Spike groaned, rubbing hard upon his forehead.

"…Emily… Why do you haunt me so…?" He whispered, his voice thickening as his eyes began to water.

Dour said nothing, but narrowed his eyes in Spike's direction; feeling slightly annoyed.

"…I'm sorry Dour." Spike mumbled, not daring to make eye contact with him.

"Hmm… Is that so?" Dour grumbled, furiously picking himself up, wincing as he strained upon his stinging kneecaps.

Spike lowered his eyes in shame, gingerly approaching Dour - and quickly dusting him down with his bushy tail and furry paws - using them like a feather duster.

"…I'm sorry." Spike said quietly, casting a pained glance at Dour's mangled knees.

"So you should be." Dour snapped, squaring up to him - his bared fangs only inches from Spike's nose.

"…Please Dour… I didn't mean to… You just… Sparked off a memory of my sister…" Spike mumbled.

"…Oh, and that makes all the difference in the world; does it?!" - Dour yelled, smoke beginning to wisp out from beyond his nostrils.

Spike sniffled quietly, a large teardrop beginning to slide down his cheek.

Dour gulped, noticing Spike's tearful state - a sharp pang of guilt impaling his heart.

"…Uh… Spike…?"

"Dour……" Spike sighed, his voice trailing off into silence.

"…I'm sorry Spike." Dour mumbled, placing a trembling arm around his friend's shoulders.

Spike sniffed hard, mucous dripping forlornly along his top lip. "…I am too. …Sorry Dour."

"Uh… I'll help you find her…" Dour stammered nervously, a strong sense of guilt still immobilising his heart.

Spike looked up, his eyes wide with curiosity and confusion. "…Huh?"

"…I'll come with you to find Emily… …She might still be on the Sevii Islands…" Dour mumbled.

"…It's unlikely." Spike muttered.

Then he coughed, realising he'd sounded rude and ungrateful. "…But you're right… She _could_ be…"

He paused awkwardly. "…Thanks Dour."

Dour nodded, smiling at last. "…It's alright - what're friends for?"

Spike grinned, his pointed teeth emerging from beyond his lips.

"…Someone needs a Sitrus Shake." Spike smiled, glancing at Dour's knees.

"…A what?"

"A Sitrus Shake - a combination of Sitrus berries and Moo-Moo Milk - high in nutrition; and they taste good too." Spike responded. "I used to take Emily here for 'em. Six Island's famous for them."

* * *

"Ah… Brings back the memories…" Spike mumbled - his voice muffled by a lilac twisty straw, modelled in the shape of a coiled Espeon's tail.

Dour said nothing, just continued slurping up the thick, creamy liquid up through his Carnivine style straw.

Spike stopped slurping, and gingerly removed his sticky straw from his beaker.

"…Espeon, eh?" He mused; admiring the craftwork on the tiny Espeon figurine perched upon the end. "…Em' and I used to collect these straws… We've got a few hundred… But we've never gotten an Espeon one before."

Dour shifted awkwardly upon the concrete step they were perched on - overlooking the calm ocean, and the brightly decorated milkshake parlour.

The sun was beginning to set sluggishly over the port of Six Island - plunging it, and the surrounding area into a dimmed darkness.

Dour sighed slowly, watching the warming, orange horizon sink into the icy depths of the frigid, blackened sea - as if his only chance of hope had been engulfed in despair.

"Getting dark, isn't it?" Spike asked; almost if he'd read Dour's thoughts.

Dour nodded - sucking the final droplets of milkshake up through his straw - attempting to distract himself from the sudden terror-inducing thoughts that had filled his head.

"Get back here - dogsbody arsewipe!"

"AAARGHHH!!"

Dour jumped, quickly raising his head to the sound - his pointed ears erected at either side of his skull cap. Spike leapt onto his feet, his fur bristling upwards in anticipation - his eyes darting from side to side, trying to find the source of the sound.

- As if responding to both animals' curiosity, a tiny grey fuzz-ball suddenly rocketed past the step they were both sitting on - kicking up a stir of leaves and dust; screaming like a terrified siren as it ran.

Immediately following it, came a sudden earth tremor; the ground suddenly vibrating harshly, as if a nearby volcano had erupted. Several thunderous clunks pounded upon the fragile ground, creating small crevasses and cracks running through the middle of the pathway; as the incoming onslaught drew ever closer.

The two were unexpectedly greeted by two familiar iron-encased faces - as an enraged Argon and infuriated Argos charged past the step; blowing up enormous clouds of sand and grit, sending it flying directly into the bewildered faces of Spike and Dour.

"We're gonna GET YOU - fleabag ball-sucker!"

Dour skewed his eyebrows in a sceptical look - Spike chewed on his lip in confusion; both of them utterly baffled at the display that just befell their eyeballs.

"…What the hell was that?"

* * *

"Gotcha… Can't run now."

"Ah... What a shame, our superior power is to be wasted on a shitbag like you."

Spike and Dour skidded to a halt - reaching the scene of where the furious chase had come to a standstill. They were greeted with the sight of both Aggrons trapping a tiny, trembling Poochyena between them.

The terrified creature squeaked in fear; as he was hauled up into the air by the scruff of his neck - his paws dangling in mid-air.

Argos smiled, shoving his steel-coated face right up against the Poochyena's own; flashing a sinister grin in his direction - his cold, wet nose touching against Argos' frigid, steel protrusion.

Bringing back an iron fist, bigger than a cinderblock - Argos delivered a swift uppercut right into the Poochyena's jaw; the tiny creature screaming in agony upon impact, his jaw pulsating in pain.

Argos opened his opposite fist, letting the creature fall to the ground.

Gasping for breath, the Poochyena remained still - his eyes beginning to water in vulnerability and besmirch.

Argon shook his head, flicking his enormous tail - rolling the critter over in the dirt, coating his bristly grey fur with a thick coating of sand and mud.

The Poochyena kept his head lowered, his nose buried in the earth - praying silently to himself that his two superior captors would spare him his life.

"Enough." Argon smirked, stepping back.

"That's all for today, Fang." Argos added, dusting his paws down thickly.

"Seeya around, shithead."

Ducking quickly behind a nearby rock - Spike and Dour managed to avoid the attention from the prying, cold eyes of the two Aggrons; who marched back along the pathway, punching the air in triumph.

When the two lumps of steel had finally vanished into the distance - out of hearing range of the three critters; Spike and Dour poked their heads gingerly over the tip of the rock, their noses resting upon the rough crag.

"...Pssst... They're gone." Spike hissed, attempting to coax the Poochyena back onto his feet.

The Poochyena groaned slowly, blinking rapidly - as he shakily struggled up onto his feet - muttering various obscenities under his breath.

Spike raised his eyebrows in surprise - stepping closer to the cursing creature, spitting out every swearword Spike and Dour had ever heard come from the grubby mouth of a ruffian sailor, or a biker brute upon Three Island Port.

"...Just frickin' wait till I evolve... Fucking bastards won't know what hit 'em…"

Immediately sensing an infuriated aura radiating from the foul-mouthed creature laid before him, Dour took several slow steps backwards, a lump appearing in his throat.

"You know…" Spike began, flicking his ears. "Even as a Mightyena, you wouldn't really stand a chance against two Aggrons."

The Poochyena frowned furiously, gritting his teeth in rage as he hauled himself up onto his four paws.

"…Yeah?" He growled, squaring up to Spike; shoving his matted mess of grey, tangled fur in Spike's face. "And what would you know… You're just an un-evolved loser with the worst haircut I've ever seen."

"Speak for yourself." Spike smirked, responding with a very calm tone, raising his eyebrows. "…You couldn't evolve if your life depended on it. And, on the topic of haircuts - _I_ can afford a brush."

- Dour was trembling violently by this point, watching in terror as the infuriated Poochyena placed his pointed teeth only inches from Spike's nose.

"…Come on then…" The Poochyena growled, a slight tone of mocking within his voice.

"…Threat?" Spike questioned - giving a silent nod.

Within a split second - Spike had thrust himself at the creature before him; and had him pinned to the ground, his front paws pressed firmly against Fang's shoulders.

"You'd do better than to threaten me." Spike smirked, flicking the Poochyena's nose with his paw.

"Awww, ain't he cute Dour? He thought he could take me on."

Dour mumbled something quietly - possessing a feeling of mixed emotions; pride for Spike and sympathy for Fang.

"…Get OFF me…!" Fang growled, attempting to struggle free.

"…Apologize for insulting my haircut." Spike grinned; his Mohawk seeming to wobble as he raised his eyebrows in encouragement.

Fang gritted his teeth, his eyes ablaze. "…Sorry." He grumbled, through his clenched fangs.

"Much better." Spike smiled, picking him up by the scruff of his neck and setting him down on his back legs.

"…Now, get back to licking your balls; or whatever you Poochyena do."

Spike flicked his hair. "Come on Dour."

Dour nodded quickly, and scurried off after Spike - leaving Fang to grapple with his own infuriated emotions.

* * *

"…How great was I back there?!" Spike laughed, his ego rapidly inflating - as his paws bounced along the sand of the village paths in triumph.

"…Quite." Dour muttered quietly, for fear of enraging Spike - now knowing how short of a temper he possessed.

"Ah… Looks like there's not much to do here. We could go to Pattern Bush - but I'm not up for _swimming_ there." Spike sighed.

"…I can't swim." Dour mumbled, hoping to change Spike's mind.

"Maybe we could rent a boat." Spike suggested, gazing out across the beach - the warm ocean lapping against the sand.

Dour said nothing this time - but proceeded to seat himself upon a soft mound of grass, surrounded by the shade of a few tall palm trees.

"Yeah, okay - let's take a break." Spike grinned. "Beating Poochyena drains your energy."

Dour sighed; hoping that Spike wasn't going to continue this bragging for much longer.

Dour's luck was cut short, however - as they both noticed a dark grey shape looming towards them, dragging what looked like a potato sack.

"Oh look who's come crawling back." Spike sniggered. "And he's brought a peace offering. No thanks Fang - I'm on the Atkins, I can't have potatoes."

Fang made a gruff sound in the back of his throat, placing his sack on the ground, sitting down beside Dour.

"…What d'ya think you're doing…?" Spike growled, jumping to his feet.

"I'm coming with you." Fang said simply, swinging his paws to and fro.

Spike seemed to freeze in slow-motion for a second; the exact expression on his face was that of an Electrode just before it explodes.

"Uh… Spike…" Dour began, his eyes widening in fear.

Spike's rage erupted a few seconds later - his eyes burning coals set amongst his fur, saliva spraying from his mouth - and his Mohawk seemed to be pulsating with anger along with his fur.

"Oh no you're NOT!" Spike yelled, shoving his nose right up against Fang's - their nasal dampness meeting instantly.

"I'm on these islands for important matters - I have no need for a nuisance like you tagging around with me."

Fang gritted his teeth, holding his ground.

"…Didn't you hear me?!" Spike growled, his eyes burning. "You're nothing but a bother, a burden, a downright bastard - GET THE HELL AWAY FROM US."

"…You've only known me for twenty minutes." Fang retorted, his fur beginning to bristle upwards.

Dour was trembling by this time; praying silently to himself that they weren't about to fight again.

"…Twenty minutes is long enough." Spike snarled, embedding his back paws into the sand, creating a firm footing for himself. - Fang did likewise.

"…No it's not…" Fang responded, attempting to shoulder Spike backwards. "…You can't know what someone's really like 'till you get to know them…"

"I don't WANT to get to know you…" Spike grumbled, pushing back with equal strength - so that the two critters looked like canine sumo wrestlers, standing in a sand ring.

"…Come on then." Fang whispered, his tiny, but rabid impulses urging him to fight.

"…With pleasure…" Spike replied, with a flick of his tail.

Dour squeezed his eyes tightly shut, wishing he could close his ears as well - to block out the horrendous sound of both critters' growls, snarls and yelps; as well as the continual crunching of gravel and sand beneath their paws.

Dour suddenly opened his eyes - as an unusual sound reached his erected ears, and echoed throughout his skull. A sound he'd heard before; and one he wished he'd never hear again…

"Argh! …ARG-"

"Oh! …ARGO-"

Both creatures' cries of terror were instantly silenced by a thunderous clunk of steel colliding with both of their skulls simultaneously, hurling them to the ground.

"…A neighbourhood scuffle, and WE weren't invited!?" Argos demanded, stamping his huge iron paw down into the sand.

"…Ah, these fools dare to defy Argon and Argos - Sinnoh's 2nd ranked duo team?!" Argon yelled, waving his immense arms around in emphasis.

"…Second only to Vol-"

Argos instantly snapped his jaws shut, in case any of their adversaries may have been listening.

Spike gave a quiet moan; his nose buried in the sand - staining the pale yellow grains a dark shade of scarlet.

The only sound coming from Fang was an almost silent sob - his right eye pulsating in agony, where Argon's fist had collided.

Dour gasped; his jaw hanging open in disgust, disbelief and discord.

"…I think that's enough for today, Argon." Argos smiled. "We must return to Two Island."

Spike suddenly squeaked - struggling to raise his head from the sand. "…You can't go _there_! That's where G-"

His words were cut short by Argos' tail, crushing down upon his skull like a guillotine - instantly making his neck crumple to the floor.

"_We_ can go wherever _we_ like, small fox." Argos smirked.

"…And there's _nobody_ who can stop us… If anyone even _tried_… We'd-"

Argon's gruff, growling tone was suddenly interrupted by a loud shriek of terror - his sturdy steel tail was engulfed in roaring embers, the silver surface beginning to erupt into molten iron brew.

"SHIT! SHIT, SHIT, FUCK!!" Argon squealed, his eyes beginning to water in pain.

"…**That's what you get for fucking with a **_**Schneider**_**…" **

* * *

"…_On this day forward… This new offspring is recognised as a classified member of the Schneider clan… But only if he can complete the Gauntlet of Glory…"_

"…_Dour Schneider… If you can run your gauntlet and return unscathed… You may join the rest of your relentless family…"_

"…_Fail, and we fail to accept you as one of us."_

"…_Fail, and you are to be drowned in the salted Rivers of Kin; as a sign of disgrace to your family..."_

"…_Fail, and you and your brother shall never be erased from the shadows of shame."_

* * *

"**Dour is alive. …Dour is relentless… The Schneider inside still squirms…"**

"…Dour! Dour, what ARE you talking about?"

"…**The Rivers of Kin failed to extinguish the never-ending flames of Schneider within my feeble soul."**

"…Dour! Wake up! …Dour! Snap OUT of it, right now!"

Dour blinked, his eyes fading back to their original soft shade of hazel. A large scar, cut into the side of his cheek began to ooze dark crimson droplets of cold blood - tracing the shape of a backwards S.

"…I lied to you Spike." Dour mumbled, not noticing his deep wound.

Spike looked bewildered. "…What did you lie about…? You didn't say anything…"

"…I didn't live on Kin Island for fourteen years…" Dour whispered.

Spike still looked puzzled. "…But what does that have to do with you just owning Argon and-"

Dour shook his head, raising a paw - indicating for Spike to be quiet.

"…I lived there for _four _years… After the higher-ups failed to remove me from their circle… I managed to survive their punishment… And a young girl named Lostelle found me on the river bank…"

"…Dour… You never mentioned anything before… Why are you telling me now… I don't mind if you don't know about your past… We're still-"

"…Spike… If _you_ knew the full extent of my past… I'd be forced to exterminate you to gain my rightful information."

"…Dour; what are you-"

"…You're searching for your sister… I'm here for something _far_ more important."

Spike's eyes hardened. "…You're suggesting that Emily is _unimportant_…?"

"…Unless her surname is _Schneider_; she is of no value to me." Dour whispered.

"…Dour - if you weren't so tripped out right now; I'd have you by the NECK." Spike growled, baring his fangs - the white gaining an odd pink tinge, reflecting the congealed blood in his matted fur.

"You would do no such thing…" Dour smiled. "_**Ernest Evoli**_."

"…W-W-What did you call me…?" Spike stammered, taking a nervous step backwards.

"…Uh… Dour?" Fang groaned, the sudden sound of Spike's voice bringing him back to consciousness.

"…What is it Fang?" Dour asked, raising his eyebrows. "…It's alright, Argon and Argos are gone."

"…You're bleeding, Dour." Fang gasped, noticing the cut in his face.

"…It is none of your concern." Dour hissed, smearing away the dripping, frigid liquid away with his paw.

_Both the blood and the S-shaped scar seemed to vanish into the folds of his fur…_

* * *


	4. Berry Bashing

* * *

**IV**

"So Fang; are you old enough to be wandering the cold and foreboding Sevii Islands all by yourself at night?" Spike mocked, carefully wrapping a large sheet of newspaper around himself to block out the draught.

Fang grumbled, shuffling down into a rough sack - which he had produced from within the other sack he had dragged along with him.

Dour shivered harshly, his breaths rising into white mist amidst the frigid air of the deserted Pokémon Centre. - It was well after three AM by this time, and the whole island seemed to have ceased their prowling and retreated to their dank dens; away from any threats from in the night time.

"How old _are _you anyway, Fang?" Spike asked, rolling onto his stomach; the cold linoleum tiles piercing his gut.

"…_Eleven_." Fang growled, his dark eyes narrowed.

Spike raised his eyebrows, suddenly looking very shocked and affected.

"…Just the same as…"

* * *

"_Happy birthday, dear Emily--!"_

"_Happy birthday to yooou--!"_

_The overexcited vixen bounced happily up and down in her seat; watching in awe as her grandpa carefully heaved in an immense iced cake in the direction of their tea-table - lined with six glinting pink candles. _

"_Now Em', you get to blow out your candles, and make a special wish. Only don't tell anybody, or it won't come true."_

_Emily smiled, the corners of her mouth almost reaching the tips of her ears._

_Spike glowered beside her; a pointed blue party hat strapped to his head with an elastic band. Several younger, irritating cousins of his and Emily's were also seated around the table with them - blowing party tooters and setting off confetti poppers. _

_His sister clambered up onto her chair, enabling her to see over the entire table - also giving her a great viewpoint of which to blow out her candles._

_Emily took in a long breath, closing her eyes in concentration. _

_Just as the expelled air from Emily's lips touched the tiny flames, crushing them into minute wisps of grey smoke; Spike seized his chance._

_The heartless male Eevee gave a harsh snicker; his sharp incisor fangs sliding out slowly from beyond his lips - now curling into a maniacal grin all over his untamed furry face._

_His dark, glinting eyes glistened with sheer mischief and amusement, as he carefully raised one of his furry paws, trying not to attract the attention of anybody watching._

_Spike quickly brought his raised paw back down towards its target - smashing it straight across Emily's neck, knocking her onto the table. _

_His terrified sister let out a small whimper of surprise - before her nose collided with the cake and instantly vanished amidst the mountain of sticky topping, along with the rest of her face._

_The next few moments passed in a sort of blur: Emily pulled her head free from the cake, her face immersed in the thick white topping. She furiously wiped her face - her dark eyes brimming with tears. _

"…_Spike! I hate you!"_

* * *

"…_Spike! How dare you ruin Emily's birthday?! …You're in big trouble, mister."_

"_..No! No Gramps! …I-I'm sorry- I won't-"_

_The prankster felt pain then - as his grandpa laid a firm paw across his backside, bending him over his knee in fury._

"…_OWWW!! Gramps! I said I was sorry…!" Spike sobbed, feeling a second blow to his behind._

_His sister smirked silently to herself from the doorway - feeling a sadistic joy at watching her brother suffer; yet also feeling extreme sympathy for her furry hero. _

"…_I love you Spike… But…" Emily mumbled. "…You deserve it." She spat, flouncing out of the room as her brother's wails continued._

* * *

"…Spike? What the hell's up with you…?"

Spike didn't respond – just continued whimpering quietly, as his bottom lip trembled. He was softly moaning apologizes under his breath, clutching his buttocks protectively with both paws.

"…I think he's fantasizing." Fang snickered, catching sight of Spike's unusual position.

"…Fuck off Fang." Spike growled – opening his eyes; the last threads of the flashback seeming to fade into silence.

"Have you two been taking whiz-banger overhaul berries or sum'pn?" Fang asked, tilting his head.

"…You mean _hallucinogenic_?" Spike sneered, shaking his head in despair.

"_Whiz-banger overhaul!_" Dour snorted, laughing at Fang's change of expression.

"Aw come on…" Spike sniggered, his dark eyes shining. "Don't ridicule the fella – he's probably never even seen a cigarette before. The world is a big and scary place for little Poochyena critters like him, after all."

"Actually, I _do_ know what smokes are…" Fang grumbled, seeming upset. "…My _Trainer_ used to use them."

Spike looked a little uncomfortable – knowing full well what Fang meant by 'used to'.

Fang glowered, shuffling back into his sack, rolling underneath the bench that Dour was sitting on, to keep the draught out of his hide.

"…Sorry." Spike muttered, tugging his cover around himself, watching the steam clouds rising from his nostrils as he exhaled.

"…It's alright." Fang sighed, flicking a dead beetle with his paw. "…You didn't know."

Dour smiled gently to himself, resting his head upon the rough arm of the bench – letting the sharp fibres of the upholstery scrape against his cheek. "…Yes… Another fight avoided…" He thought, letting his eyes gently close.

* * *

"Urgghh… Wha… What time is it…?"

Dour sat up slowly, the room still filled with darkness – his breath still condensing upon the dull walls as he spoke.

He felt something warm brush against his paw – and he jumped in surprise, quickly drawing it back. "…Wha… What was that?!"

Another stroke swept across his other paw – leaving a wet, sticky residue along his sole.

"Augh! What the…!"

Dour trembled slowly – terrified amidst the darkened void, watching his frigid breath dancing in mysterious forms before his nose. He gingerly leant over the side of the bench, looking down at Fang – who was seated upon his hind legs, whimpering quietly.

The glinting black spheres of his eyes shimmered softly back at Dour; misted and glassy with moisture – as if he were crying.

"…Fang… Stop licking my paw." Dour growled, rolling back onto his side, and dropping back into slumber.

* * *

The next morning – Spike was the first to wake, pacing up and down the tiled floor of the Pokémon Centre; impatient for the other two to awaken.

"…Wake up, wake up! Wake up, NOW!" He eventually yelled – after waiting for around three minutes. - (Which had seemed like three _hours_ to an irritable Eevee like himself.)

Fang groaned, wriggling out of his sack – whilst Dour gave a stifled grunt, raising his head from the arm of the bench; the rough fibres had imprinted onto the side of his face, looking like he'd been attacked by a playful Skitty.

"You could market yourself as an alarm clock." Dour groaned, yawning heavily as he hauled himself upright, leaning his back to the wall.

"Any chance of breakfast?" Fang asked gingerly, rolling out from underneath the bench, climbing up onto his feet.

"I suppose so." Spike muttered, taking out his brown leather berry pouch.

Spike nodded his head, indicating for Fang to hold out his paws. Fang did so - and he was rewarded with a pawful of five colourful berries; a dark crimson Razz, a tender pink Pecha, a rough purple Chesto, an emerald green Rawst and a shimmering sapphire-blue Oran.

Fang smiled in pleasure, popping the Pecha and Rawst into his mighty jaws - pink and green sticky juice dribbling down his furry chin.

"Dour?" Spike called, raising the bag encouragingly.

"…No thanks… I'm not hungry." Dour mumbled, scratching in irritation at his right cheek, where the scar had absorbed back into his skin.

"Suit yourself." Spike shrugged, tucking his berry pouch back into the folds of his thick bushy fur around his head, tying it securely around a string he had tied around his neck.

Resting gently upon Spike's fuzzy neck was a second string - only made from tiny gold links, glinting softly as they caught the light. Dangling in front of Spike's chest was his golden charm necklace - the two names 'Emily' and 'Ernest' engraved into the centre, entwining at the letter E.

* * *

"…_No Spike! …I… I don't wanna go in there!"_

"…_Emily, why not? This is the furthest we've came before - don't you want to see what's on the other side?"_

"…_But… B-But Spike… It's d-dark and scary… And it's full of c-creepy bugs!"_

"…_Emily, I won't let them hurt you." Spike whispered gently, slipping his paw into his sister's own, stroking it softly. _

_Emily snuffled quietly, wiping her tears thickly with the back of her paw - forcing a heroic smile to spring to her lips. _

"…_A-Alright Spike… We're brave adventurers… We'll get through the… P-Pattern Bush together!"_

"_That's what I like to hear! C'mon Em' - we'll show them what we're made of!"_

* * *

"…What…? Was that…? …Was that when…?"

"…Hello?! Spike?!"

Spike blinked, snapping out of his trance, as Fang was furiously waving his tail in front of his nose. Spike batted him away in disgust.

"…Did you see Emily again…?" Dour asked, raising his eyebrows sympathetically.

"…Yeah… I saw… …A few years ago…" Spike paused, grimacing as he tried hard to piece his memories back together.

"We used to go around the Sevii Islands with my Grandpa and my cousin… …And his Trainer came too, on his rowing boat… …They'd go off and train in the tall grass, and we'd…. Emily and I… We'd go on adventures together…"

"……So what did you see?" Dour asked, stepping closer, curious to hear what Spike had to say.

Spike groaned, rubbing his temples as he wracked his brain, attempting to drag his dusty, forgotten childhood memories back to the surface of his skull.

"…I saw… …I saw…"

Spike suddenly jumped, his huge tail almost knocking Fang over. "It was at Pattern Bush!"

The Mohawk-clad Eevee now seemed very excited. "Pattern Bush is only about half a mile from here!"

'_Only…_' - Dour thought; he'd never wandered any further on Three Island than to his quiet spot just outside Berry Forest.

The day he'd met Spike - he'd been dared to go inside by a spiteful Luxio who had jumped at every chance to bully Dour at every opportunity he was given.

"…Ha, can't get me now, Rox." Dour muttered, smiling smugly to himself - not listening to Spike's continued and excited ramble.

"-and… This might sound totally impossible, but… The old Ledian who lived out in front of Pattern Bush always took a shine to Emily - she'd go and visit her every Friday, and I had to play on my own on the beach. She didn't like me coming in her house, I spilt some lemonade the first time I was round there, see. She said I was a clumsy cretin and- …Dour, are you even listening?!"

Dour jumped in surprise, nodding his head rapidly; trying to hide the fact he hadn't taken in a word that Spike had said. "Yeah um… So you think Emily will be at Pattern Bush?"

"…I dunno. What day is it?" Spike asked, glancing over at Fang - who was excavating dirt from between his claws.

"No clue." Fang responded, sticking out his tongue in concentration, as he licked at his feet, slurping out bits of broken twig and fluff from under his claws.

"I don't know either." Dour mumbled sadly, trying to ignore Fang's disgusting habits.

"Well…" Spike croaked, swallowing hard. "…We can always try…"

* * *

"Spike! Wait for us!" - Dour was yelling, as he and Fang sprinted down the mossy green pathway through Six Island village - the energetic Eevee running at the speed of a rocket ahead of them was slowly becoming fainter and fainter as he bounded down the marble steps to the Water Path launching zone.

From where Spike had stopped; he took a deep inhale of the crisp sea air - gazing around at the many swarms of malicious Tentacool bobbing menacingly across the gentle ripple of the waves. Groups of curious Bellsprout waded in and out through the tall grass clumps dotted around the peaceful picnic spot to his right - overlooking the rocky coral reefs and soft-current swimming areas, where many Trainers were bobbing to and fro in inner tubes with their prized Pokémon.

"……You…could…have……waited…" Dour panted, as he reached the bottom of the stairs, saliva dripping from his tongue and sweat trickling down his forehead.

Fang groaned, clutching his side, where he'd developed a stitch from running so fast straight after breakfast.

"You two are so unfit." Spike sneered. "You'd never make it through the Pokémon Cadets."

"…Were…_you_…with…them?" Dour asked, raising his eyes weakly to Spike's own.

Spike rubbed his chest proudly, tossing his hair. "…Of course. Gramps enrolled me with them when I was five. I got to go to Johto with them on a camping expedition."

Dour grimaced with envy. He'd only ever heard stories about the far-off land of Johto - wonderful stories which had set a pulse beating rapidly within his chest; the sheer scent of exhilaration and anticipation reaching his nostrils every time he imagined what it would be like.

Fang smirked oddly, suddenly sounding very smug. "…And did you earn your swimmin' medal?"

Spike blushed. "Errr… The ten metres, yes…"

Fang laughed, his eyes glittering. "So a beginner's bronze, then."

"…What's it to you?!" Spike growled, his ears twitching in anger.

"Just makin' an assumption." Fang giggled. "If you can only swim ten of those metres… How are you going to _swim_ to Pattern Bush?"

Spike clenched his teeth in rage, as an infuriated grimace spread rapidly across his entire face - a nerve twitching below his right eye.

"…But what about you…?!" Spike yelled, pouncing on Fang, pressing his paws into his shoulders. "How are _you _gonna get to Pattern Bush yourself?!"

Fang smiled calmly, ignoring the Eevee's rage. "…Hey. I didn't _suggest_ it." He said smugly, raising his eyebrows.

Just before Spike was about to pulverise Fang's face with his trembling fists - Dour cut in, nervously, but sharpish.

"…Remember Spike, I… I told you I can't swim."

Spike screamed in fury - kicking angrily at a wooden fencepost. - He leapt backwards immediately, as he'd stubbed his toe accidentally.

"For fuck's sake! We can't get to the Pattern-fucking-Bush; I'm stuck on this island with two retards, and I'VE GOT A SPLINTER IN MY FRICKIN' TOE!!"

"…Now, now, there's no need for language like that."

The three boys looked up in surprise upon hearing this new voice - a gentle feminine tone, laden with kindness and care.

Stood before them all was a plump blue rabbit - her long ears pointed erect to the sky, twitching occasionally as if she were scanning for incoming danger. Her paws were podgy and padded - and her tail resembled a square-edged spring with a large, blue rubber ball perched upon the end.

Her nose was a small black button set in the centre of her chubby face, and her eyes were a heavy shade of dark hazel - reflecting the sun's shimmering rays.

"…And who are you supposed to be?" Fang sneered, rudely.

Spike growled at him, elbowing him out of the way. "…Don't listen to him, ma'am - he's just a common testicle-licking mutt."

The Azumarill grimaced, averting her eyes from both Fang and Spike - turning her gaze to Dour; who had remained silent in shyness.

"I've not seen you around these parts before." She said, smiling warmly. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"…My n-name's… D-Dour…" Dour mumbled, stammering nervously as he responded to her question.

"W-What's yours?"

The Azumarill beamed in pleasure, satisfied by Dour's politeness. "My name is Azzurri."

"Azzurri?! What sort of crack-nut name is that?!" Fang snorted, throwing back his head in laughter - before Spike socked him right in the gut as a punishment for being uncouth and tactless.

"…It's an Italian name." Azzurri frowned, sticking her nose in the air. "A name of high culture and social class. Of course, _you_ wouldn't understand that."

Fang ground his teeth in rage, ready to retort back - but Spike cut in first.

"What does it _mean_?"

"It's the Italian form of azure. The colour of my fur - it makes a lot of sense." Azzurri smiled, seeming pleased that Spike had questioned the reasoning behind her name.

"What's yours, Mr. Mohawk?" She grinned, staring in amazement at Spike's rebellious, punk hairdo.

"Ern-… _Spike_." Spike said quickly, correcting himself. "_Spike_ Evoli."

"And what about…?" Azzurri asked slowly - trying to distract herself from looking at Fang, who was attempting to slurp the grime from inside his tummy-button.

"That's Fang." Dour answered, also grimacing. "Don't pay any attention to him, Ms. Azzurri."

"Oh please Dour!" Azzurri giggled, blushing foolishly. "No snobbish titles for me - just plain Azzurri will do."

"What're you all doing out here - are you taking a vacation?" Azzurri asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Well… See, we _were_ going to go to Pattern Bush… We're looking for my little sister." Spike began, staring down at the endless stretch of navy-blue ocean laid out before him.

"Oh… I'm sorry - did you get separated?" Azzurri asked, her voice laden with sympathy.

"…Yeah… Three _years_ ago…" Spike muttered, glaring at his feet.

"Oh you poor dear!" Azzurri exclaimed, now sounding highly concerned. "Have you not heard anything from her?"

Spike shook his head. "No…"

"…We used to come to Pattern Bush when we were younger… But… Gramps would take us on his boat… I can swim - but I can't swim that far…"

"…And I can't swim at all." Dour added, sounding embarrassed.

Azzurri suddenly smiled, an idea striking her. "Well I'll help you, Spike darling - swimming is where we Azumarill excel! I can ferry you across the Water Path on my back!"

Spike's downtrodden face suddenly lit up. "…Honest?! …You'd do that for us?"

"Of course, dears. It's the least I could do - I feel dreadful after hearing about your poor sister." Azzurri said gently, approaching the bank.

"What was-… _Is_, her name?"

"…Emily. Emily Evoli." Spike mumbled, feeling a hard pang in his chest after hearing Azzurri accidentally use the past tense to describe his sister.

"…Emily Evoli. It's an alliterative symmetrical syllable name!" Azzurri exclaimed, sounding impressed.

"…That's exactly what _she_ used to say…" Spike muttered, though not loud enough for Azzurri, Fang or Dour to hear him.

"Hop on board, dears - we'll soon have you over at Pattern Bush!" Azzurri chirped, climbing into the shallow water, with her head held slightly above the water's surface.

Spike nodded, gingerly climbing up onto Azzurri's shoulders. Dour followed, shaking nervously, as he sat down upon the bottom of her back.

"…What about me!?" Fang yelled indignantly. "There's no room for me!"

Azzurri lifted the sapphire sphere on the end of her tail out of the water - letting it float on the surface.

"Sit on my tail, Fang?" Azzurri suggested. "You may get your feet wet, but… I won't let you sink."

"That's dirty." Fang commented, creating his own innuendo by twisting Azzurri's words.

Nevertheless, he cautiously placed his front paws around Azzurri's tail - resting his stomach upon it, letting his back legs and the tip of his tail dangle in the warm ocean current.

"Now hold on tight…" Azzurri called, as she began rapidly kicking out her paws, propelling herself and her three furry passengers swiftly through the water; starting their journey to their first adventure at the Pattern Bush.

* * *

"Augh… That's one boat ride I wouldn't like to do again in a hurry." Fang moaned, climbing off Azzurri's tail as she set the three of them down upon the shore.

"_Thank you_, Azzurri." Spike growled, glaring in Fang's direction - feeling miffed on Azzurri's behalf.

"You're welcome, Spike." Azzurri mumbled, shaking her head. "I'll be waiting here for you all when you get back from your search."

Spike, Dour and Fang watched her scramble up along the steep, sandy bank where they had docked. Azzurri tottered over to a gently shaded patch of shrubbery, surrounded on three sides by bushes and flowerbeds. She lay down on her back, folding her ears over her eyes to protect her slumber being disturbed by the glare of the sun.

"…Right… We're here." Spike muttered darkly, focusing his gaze upon a thick forest's edge, which was coating half of the island.

"…To Pattern Bush?" Dour asked, placing his head on one side. "…Spike, what are you thinking?"

Spike shook his head, turning back to face Dour and Fang. "…I was thinking we ought to pay a visit to Buzzard."

"What's a Buzzard?" Fang asked, flicking out his tail clumsily in an attempt to attract a passing butterfly.

"Buzzard is the old Ledian who lives out over there…" Spike groaned, pointing in the direction of a small wooden tree-house, balanced neatly in the branches of a large oak tree several metres in front of them.

"Ah, the one who doesn't like you." Fang snickered, also staring up at the tree-house Spike was pointing to.

"…I'd go with you Spike, if you were afraid…" Dour mumbled - though his own tone was closer to sounding like a Teddiursa caught in a bear trap, rather than an Ursaring roaring in the face of a Pidgey.

"I'm not afraid!" Spike sneered, glaring at Dour. "…Just… she'd probably turn me away instantly if her old memory could familiarise itself with me."

"Ah, what's she gonna do?" Fang laughed, shaking his head in despair. "- Chase you 'round the island with a broomstick?!"

* * *

"…It was an accident! Please believe me!" - Spike pleaded, not daring to look over his shoulder at the incoming red homing missile that was focused on his tail.

"You've not changed at all in three years, Ernest Evoli!" Buzzard screeched, clenching her fists tightly, as she flapped her wings faster, attempting to catch up to the sprinting vandal running ahead of her.

Dour and Fang shook their heads - both of them hanging from the branch of a nearby tree; as they'd both leapt up there as soon as Buzzard had started chasing Spike, in order to avoid also being attacked.

"Why can't you be more like your sister Emily?!" Buzzard yelled, now flying above Spike's head. "She never used to waltz straight into my house without ringing the doorbell - and she never used to put her paws on the coffee table… And she never ever once smashed one of my priceless china plates!"

"…IT WAS AN ACCIDENT!!" Spike whimpered, clenching his teeth in determination as he increased his pace.

"…Alright, it's time for me to finish this, Ernest." Buzzard grinned, rapidly rubbing her wings together - a fine silver powder beginning to pour from between them.

"Respect your seniors… Silver Wind!"

With Buzzard's words, she flipped backwards in the air, so that she was hovering above Spike's bouncing tail. She spread her arms and wings apart, and sent forth a torrent of glistening silver dust to cascade down over Spike.

Spike closed his eyes furiously, determined not to be blinded by Buzzard's attack. He continued to run on ahead, but to his dismay, his paws suddenly skidded upon the dusted ground - his claws' grip totally unaffected by the slippery powder.

Spike let out a quiet yelp, feeling his legs fall out from underneath him, his belly skidding rapidly along the floor until his skull collided with a huge Razz berry bush - stopping him in a sudden burst of spiky branches and splattering orange berry flesh.

Buzzard landed gracefully on her two hind legs, several centimetres from where Spike lay in a bedraggled heap, tangled within thorny branches and immersed in squished berries.

She dusted her paws down smugly, shaking her head in despair. "Oh well… Life is rough, isn't it, Ernest?"

Buzzard cackled to herself, leaping back up into the air, zooming off back off in the opposite direction. As she passed the tree where Fang and Dour were perched, she poked her head up through the leaves, giving them both a fright - both of them squeaking in shock.

"You must be friends of dear little Ernest." Buzzard smirked, her eyes glinting menacingly.

Fang trembled nervously, making a sound like a hamster exploding inside a microwave oven.

"…Uhh… T-That's right…" Dour stammered, edging backwards slowly, gulping as he noticed the height from which he was suspended.

"Don't worry boys - I shan't punish you… After all, you were not the ones who barged into my home and smashed one of my priceless plates, now, were you?"

Dour shook his head, nudging Fang sharply in the side as an indication for him to stop shaking.

"So long boys!" Buzzard laughed, performing a swift 180 degrees turn, before speeding off back to her home.

"…She's someone I wouldn't want to meet again in a hurry." Dour muttered, slowly beginning to climb down the bark of the tree.

"Totally." Fang agreed, leaping down from the branch, following Dour down.

Once both canine critters had safely touched the ground with their paws - Dour stood up on his hind legs, scanning the area for Spike.

"…Spike?! …Spike, are you alright?"

"There he is!" Fang called, dashing over to the Razz bush with Dour at his heels.

Dour and Fang knelt down beside their bedraggled friend, gently easing clumps of his fur free from the wild tangles of the thorny branches.

"…_Now_ do you see what I meant about Buzzard…?" Spike moaned, feeling the tiny thorns cutting into his skin.

"…Yeah, we see." Dour mumbled, placing his paws upon Spike's shoulders, pulling him away from the tangle of tricky branches whilst Fang began to unpick Spike's tail.

"Oi! Watch what you're doing with my tail!" Spike shouted, not trusting the clumsy Poochyena anywhere near his rear end.

Fang snorted with immature laughter, once again - finding a perverted twist within Spike's words. Dour shook his head in despair; hauling Spike up onto his feet as Fang freed his tail from the bushes.

"There you go." Dour smiled, scratching his head nervously.

"…Dour…?" - Spike began, nervously.

"Mmm…?"

"Can you burn Buzzard's house down for me?"

* * *

"You know Dour, you really are a wimp."

"I am not!" Dour protested, grumpily kicking fallen leaves out of his path. "I wasn't going to just burn down some old lady's house, when she hadn't done anything to _me_ in the first place!"

"What's the point in havin' fire powers, if you don't do anything fun with 'em?" Fang asked, raising an eyebrow rudely.

Dour snarled, wisps of smoke beginning to slither up from his nostrils.

"Yeah Dour! You shouldn't even BE a Houndour!"

Dour stopped; his eyes instantly turning red, the smoke gently simmering down. He'd heard a phrase like that before. But not from Spike…

* * *

"_Give me the branding bayonet."_

"…_**No!"**_

"…_Dour, do not speak out of turn."_

"…_A real Schneider does not speak when faced with suffering."_

"…_Though he's not at all worthy…"_

"…_Yes Doom, we have established that…"_

"…_Now…"_

"…_**ARRRRGGGHHHH!!"**_

* * *

"I think he's coming round…"

"…**Bumsen."**

_("Fuck…")_

"Pardon, Dour?"

"**Verdammt bastard."**

_("Fucking bastards…")_

Azzurri laid a gentle hand upon Dour's molten forehead, whispering gently into his ear in an attempt to comfort him.

"…H-He's done it before A-Azzurri…" Fang stammered, his legs shaking. "…H-He blacked out once b-before…"

"…And then he started talking some other language…" Spike added. "Like he just did."

"Dour…? Can you hear me?"

The Houndour blinked, opening his eyes wider - their colour slowly fading back to their normal hardened umber. He groaned, squirming uncomfortably upon feeling the unpleasant dampness of his body, due to his sudden excessive perspiration.

"…Azzurri? …Spike? …Fang?" Dour mumbled, swallowing hard; attempting to focus his eyesight on the creatures before him.

"…Doom?! Are you there Doom?!" Dour yelled, quickly leaping up out of Azzurri's grasp, standing square on his four paws - screaming to the sky.

"…Doom! COME BACK HERE YOU WORTHLESS COWARD!"

"…Azzurri! Do something!" - Spike pleaded, chewing on his lip nervously.

Azzurri scratched her head quickly; her eyes darting from side to side as she forced herself to think fast.

She nodded her head quickly - suddenly getting an idea. Azzurri opened her mouth gently, spitting out a soft stream of cold water onto Dour's skull cap.

- Dour grimaced, shivering at the sudden shock of the water's temperature, and suddenly feeling his elemental balance being upset.

Azzurri closed her mouth, watching Dour shake himself dry - before he began to tremble slightly in fear.

"It's alright Dour… I only did it to help… I'm not going to do it again…" Azzurri mumbled gently, placing her warm paw on Dour's shoulder.

"…Y-You mean it…?" Dour whimpered; his eyes wide with fear.

Azzurri nodded gently. "…Come on, let's go back."

* * *

"You're not feeling sick are you, Dour?" Azzurri asked, sounding concerned. "You haven't spoken a word since we set off."

"Dour doesn't talk much, Azzurri." Spike explained, watching a group of young Pokémon Trainers swimming alongside them.

There were four of them; three teenage girls and a young boy with a gently combed mop of brown hair, bobbing inside an inner-tube.

"Look sis', that bunny is carrying those dogs on its back!" He chirped, sounding excited.

The three girls stopped for a moment, treading water by gently swishing their limbs through the cool sea current.

"Look Karen, it's an Azumarill!" - One of them called; her sapphire blue eyes glimmering in admiration.

"Aww, isn't she cute?!" - Chirped a second, brushing her damp blonde fringe out of her eyes; her grin tickling her freckled cheeks.

Azzurri smiled gently to herself, continuing to swim on with a slight shake of her ears - leaving the children cooing and giggling amongst themselves.

"…I am NOT a dog." Spike snapped, as soon as they were out of earshot.

"…Doesn't it b-bother you, Azzurri?" Dour piped up, clearly ignoring Spike.

"Does what bother me, Dour dear?" Azzurri asked, turning her head slightly to face him.

"Trainers, just randomly pointing at you and talking about you…" Dour mumbled, lowering his eyes. "I'd hate it…"

"Of course not Dour, I don't mind at all. It's not like they say _bad_ things about me." Azzurri smiled. "You need to stop being so shy Dour - learn to take a compliment!"

Dour glowered, feeling his cheeks tingling as the sun beat down upon his back.

"How much longer Azzurri…?!" Fang whined, from his perch upon her tail.

"It shouldn't be long now, Fang…" Azzurri sighed, hating the sound of his voice.

"Why don't we all _sing_…?" Spike muttered sarcastically - gazing over at a group of Tentacool bobbing casually upon the surface of the ocean.

"Oh! Good idea Spike!" Fang smirked, his eyes glinting. "I've got a good one…" He giggled, taking in a breath.

"_One million bottles of Zinc on the wall, a million bottles of Zinc! You take one down, pass it around - Ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-nine bottles of Zinc on the wall!"_

"…Fang…"

"_Ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-nine bottles of Zinc on the wall, ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-nine bottles of Zinc! You take one down, pass it around - Ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-eight bottles of Zinc on the wall!"_

"Fang…!"

"_Ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-eight bottles of Zinc on the wall, ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-eight bottles of Zinc! You take one down, pass it around - Ninety-nine thousand, nine-hundred-ninety-seven bottles of Zinc on the wall!"_

"**FANG!!"**

"…What? I was just getting to the good part…" Fang sniggered.

"…Do you know anything that's not _annoying_, Fang?" Azzurri groaned, sounding exasperated.

"Lessee…" Fang thought, determined to think up a song even more annoying or mildly offensive.

"_Who ate all the pies? Who ate all the pies? Whoooo ate all the piiiies?! Snorlax, you fat bastard! Snorlax ate all the pies!"_

"…Fang, I don't care for language like that. Especially coming from a fourteen-year-old Poochyena." Azzurri sighed, tutting in disgust.

"_Fourteen_!?" Spike gasped. "You think that immature little guano is fourteen?!"

Azzurri furrowed her eyebrows. "…Then how old _is _he?"

"He's eleven, Azzurri." Dour mumbled, shaking his head despairingly in Fang's direction.

"Appalling. I wouldn't let a son of mine use language like that, even at sixteen." Azzurri complained, rolling her eyes.

"…What's a guano?" Dour asked, curiously - though nobody paid him any attention.

"You didn't even let me finish the song…" Fang growled, baring his teeth. "You're just an Easter egg with ears."

"No wait; you're the Easter bunny after she's eaten everybody else's Easter eggs!" Fang snapped, rudely.

"_She's big; she's round - she bounces off the ground… AZZURRI!"_

Azzurri shook her head, an odd smile curling up the corner of her lips. They were now only a meter away from the shore - and the golden sands were in clear view.

"Well… If you're going to insult me like that Fang…" Azzurri smirked, quickly lifting her tail from out of the water; dunking Fang neatly into the shallow water with a _plop_.

Fang screamed out in terror, furiously flailing his paws in all directions - splashing frothy waves all around him, spraying sprinkles of salt-water in every direction.

"**Argggggggggghhh!!" **Fang gurgled, his mouth filling with brine. "H-Help me! I-I can't swim!!"

The helpless creature struggled to keep his head above the water's surface, as his eyes stung from the exposure to the bitter brine, his nose was clogged with salted snot and his ears were feeling unpleasantly moist and mushy inside.

After a few moments of rapid flailing and screaming, Fang felt his paw scrape along the ground. He stopped, placing all four of his feet upon the floor - realising the water had only been up to his chest the whole time.

Dour, Spike and Azzurri had been watching from the shore - and now they were doubled up with laughter at the expression of sheer humility upon Fang's face.

The soggy, bedraggled Poochyena clenched his teeth, his cheeks burning in both fury and embarrassment. He waded through the shallows to the beach, his paws squelching loudly upon the wet sand.

"Ahh… I think we could all do with a sing-along right now." Spike grinned, taking in a breath.

"_One million bottles of brine on the beach, a million bottles of brine! You throw Fang down, splash him around - ninety-nine thousand nine-hundred-ninety-nine bottles of brine on the beach!"_

"I think I like this version better." Azzurri smiled, folding her arms smugly.

"Ah, there's nothing like a day out at the beach, eh Dour?" Spike grinned.

Dour smiled. "Nothing quite like it at all Spike…"

* * *


	5. Tarot's Cards

**V**

* * *

"Stand on the mat, Fang." Azzurri smirked, graciously opening her front door - painted in a deep sapphire blue; the windows lined with window-boxes, filled with brightly coloured flower arrangements.

Fang glowered, growing harshly under his breath - as he placed his two soggy front paws down upon the bristly doormat, brine dripping from his fur.

"You must be hungry." Azzurri smiled gently, ushering Spike and Dour into the hallway - their padded paws tapping softly upon the spotless laminate flooring tiles.

She grinned brightly, throwing Fang a rough towel, which had been hanging beside her letterbox. "Dry off - then you can come in."

"Sorry." She continued, turning to Spike and Dour. "My Trainer is a bit of a particular."

"So where is he?" Spike asked, throwing her a sceptical glance.

"_She._" Azzurri corrected. "She's out on business. I'm entrusted with looking after the house whilst she's away."

"There, I'm dry." Fang grumbled, throwing the damp towel at Azzurri's back.

"Thank you." She snickered, gingerly folding up the sodden linen - grimacing slightly at Fang's strong odour of soggy dog and seaweed. With a slight shake of her head, Azzurri took Fang by the scruff of his neck and dragged him inside - quickly closing the door behind them.

Azzurri lead the three quadrupeds through into a small kitchen - the floor tiled with black and white chequered linoleum, the walls painted a light pastel grey - and a large, scrubbed oak table was placed in the centre of the room, surrounded by six chairs made from varnished logs.

"Make yourselves at home." Azzurri smiled, gesturing for the boys to seat themselves.

All three followed her instruction, and nestled their furry behinds upon the seats; Fang's tail wagging in excitement, Spike's entwining itself around the bottom of the chair, and Dour's remaining perfectly still - as he gazed around in awe - admiring his new surroundings.

"I hope you like Poffin." Azzurri said gently, clattering about from the sideboard - pulling out a set of four china plates, and rustling a parcel which she'd produced from the pantry. A warm aroma of freshly-baked fruit bread filling the whole room as she pulled back the aluminium foil covering; making her guest's noses twitch in interest.

Dour placed his head on one side - having never tasted Poffin before - he was slightly curious for the new and enticing flavours to dance upon his taste buds.

Within a few moments, Azzurri walked back to the table - placing a plate down in front of each of them; a thick wedge of soft Poffin bread resting gently upon the intricate design of Marill and Poliwag dancing upon Lilly pads, which was painted daintily upon the china. Large clumps of colourful berries were poking through the crumbling bread - emitting a sweet scent right into their nostrils.

Azzurri had even taken to arranging three different types of juicy berries beside the slice of bread - and pouring out four tall glasses of MooMoo Milk.

"Thanks Azz'." Spike grinned, tucking into his Poffin. "Awfully sweet of you." - He said, his voice muffled by his mouthful.

"Thank you Spike." Azzurri responded, blushing a little. "But, do me a favour. Don't talk with your mouth full."

Dour smiled warmly, chewing thoughtfully upon his sweet snack - feeling strangely content - surrounded by three of his new friends, eating delicious food, amongst a soothing warm atmosphere - the deep red sunset seeping in through the cracks in the window-blinds.

"So; when are we hauling this joint?" Fang asked - rudely interrupting Spike and Azzurri's conversation; whilst clumsily blowing sticky Poffin crumbs in their direction.

Azzurri glared at him. "Don't be so ungrateful." She snapped, furrowing her eyebrows.

"Yeah, bang out." Spike coughed, his eyes burning.

Fang sighed, toying anxiously with the remaining crumbs on his plate - rolling an Oran berry around the table in boredom.

"You didn't _have_ to come with us." Dour growled - feeling slightly miffed on Azzurri's behalf.

Fang bared his teeth - squishing the berry flat onto the tabletop with a single slam of his paw. "...What, Dour?" - He said slowly, clicking his teeth in irritation.

Dour; despite shaking slightly in fear, held his ground. "...You heard me Fang. Apologize to Azzurri."

"I'm not 'pologizin' for anythin'." Fang muttered, swinging his back legs to and fro - obviously annoyed.

"Leave it, Dour." Azzurri sighed, shaking her head slightly in exasperation.

"Are you done?" Azzurri enquired, narrowing her eyes in Fang's direction - as she mopped up the squashed berry with a dishcloth.

Fang said nothing, but pushed his plate away - glaring at the floor. Azzurri sighed once more in Fang's direction; beginning to collect up the glasses and cutlery, before assembling them carefully in the pristine dishwasher in the corner of the room.

"It's getting late." She commented, giving the clock upon the wall an awkward glance.

"You're not sending us to bed, are you?" Spike joked.

"Of course, young Spike. Listen to your elders." Azzurri grinned, giving him a nod.

"You can always send Fang to bed though." Dour smirked, his tiny fangs protruding from below his lip. "It's past his bedtime, after all."

"Shut up Dour." Fang muttered, grinding his back molars together in fury.

"You can sleep in the den." Azzurri said warmly. "It's cosy in there. Two of you can take the couch; one of you can have the armchair."

"I bags the chair." Fang coughed, still glaring at Dour.

"No fear, fleabag - I'd rather sleep with a Skuntank than sleep with you." Spike snickered, his eyes shimmering.

Azzurri looked slightly alarmed at the mention of fleas - but continued regardless. "I'll get you up in time for your ship, don't worry."

* * *

In the dead of the night, a gentle hush had fallen across Six Island - lulling all of its' inhabitants into a whimsical dreamland.

Dour was huddled up at one corner of the den couch, snuggled deeply into a soft white cushion, whilst his back was covered by a woollen blanket. His breathing sounded heavy, but his mouth was hanging open in a dumb smile, as if he was having an extremely pleasurable dream.

Spike, who was laid at the opposite end of the couch - was snoring softly, as he was curled up tightly underneath his end of the blanket; his tail coiled around the arch of his back. One of his paws was hanging over the edge of the couch - and just as Spike was about to enter his own land of nod…

"AUGH! What the _fuck _was that?!" Spike hissed, feeling something unpleasantly moist lapping at his leg. Hoping he hadn't woken Dour, Spike sat up, poking his head over the side of the couch, glancing down at the floor.

Spike frowned, as he noticed Fang, crouched at his feet, his eyes shimmering sadly, wet with moisture.

"Fang… _Don't_ lick my paw." Spike whispered, furrowing his eyebrows in irritancy, as he rolled back onto his side, burying his face in the cushion.

* * *

Yawning tiredly - Dour cautiously padded down the dimly-lit corridor, leading towards Azzurri's kitchen - where he could hear faint music seeping out through the crack in the door; combined with a gentle lull of singing.

He had to admit - despite being woken up several times in the night by Fang's loud snores, and Spike's anxious sleep talk - Azzurri's couch was a lot comfier than the bench in the Pokémon Centre.

He gingerly pushed the door ajar - letting the calm yellow light pour out from inside the kitchen. Azzurri was stood upon a stool, enabling her to reach the counter - boiling eggs in a large metal saucepan, and singing along softly to a classic song upon the radio.

"Sleep well, Dour?" Azzurri asked, turning to face him - a cheerful smile upon her lips.

"Yeah..." Dour mumbled, feeling a little shy. "Thanks for letting us stay... And for the Poffin."

"Aw, shucks - it was nothing." Azzurri smiled warmly. "I sometimes invite travelling Pokémon back here for a snack and a rest - especially when Sarah's out in Kanto. I get so lonely."

Dour nodded, assuming Sarah was the name of Azzurri's travelling Trainer.

"Though out of everyone who's stayed over here - you and Spike are two of the most charming Pokémon I've met for a long time." Azzurri added, her grin practically reaching her ears.

Dour blushed, grinning stupidly.

"Uh, and I suppose Fang is the most rude and obnoxious?" He smirked, his eyes shining.

"Definitely." Azzurri laughed.

"...It was so funny when you tipped him in the sea." Dour giggled, remembering back to the expression upon his face.

"He deserved it." Azzurri replied - though she smiled too.

"What're you making?" Dour asked, stepping closer.

"Oh, I'm just making you three some breakfast before you leave." Azzurri responded, jumping back onto her stool - beginning to slice up a round Poffin loaf into thin strips.

"I'll make you a lunch for on the road too." She added. "I hope you like hard-boiled eggs and Oran cupcakes." - She gestured to a steaming baking tray on the hob beside her - three neat lines of perfect cupcakes, risen to perfection and emitting a mouth-watering scent from the fluffy sponge base.

"They look delicious, Azzurri." Dour smiled, feeling himself salivating.

"Why thank you, Dour." Azzurri grinned, turning back to face him. "You know, Spike and yourself, no other Pokémon have ever paid me as many compliments." Azzurri suddenly smirked mischievously. "You don't have a _cruuuush_ on me, do you Dour?"

Dour felt his cheeks burning. "Uh… No Azzurri! Of course I don't!" - He protested, trying not to sound rude.

"D'aww, you're a darling, d'ya know that?" Azzurri giggled, stepping down from the stool, before she wiped her paws upon a tea-towel. "Any ideas on when Spike and fleabag will be getting up?"

"I… I'll go and wake them up, if you like…" Dour stammered, looking up at Azzurri.

"That would be lovely, Dour." Azzurri said cheerfully, bending down slightly to Dour's level, kissing him softly upon his furry cheek. "Off you pop then."

Dour grimaced, dashing back in the direction of the den - hoping Azzurri hadn't noticed him blush.

* * *

Dour burst though the den door, leaning against it, panting slightly before he shouted at Spike and Fang to wake up. "Hey, you two… Get up!"

Spike groaned, raising his head from the cushion he'd been laid upon. He shuffled out from underneath the blanket, glancing over at Dour.

"Why are you blushing, Dour?"

Dour bit his lip, looking slightly pained and awkward. "Err… I'm not. I'm just… I'm just too warm. Azzurri's making breakfast, so it's _real_ hot in the kitchen." Dour mumbled, attempting to cover his embarrassment with excuses.

Spike looked suspicious, but shook his head - turning his attention to Fang, who was sprawled out across the armchair, chewing a mouthful of his fur.

"Oi! Shithead!" Spike yelled rudely, indicating for Fang to wake up.

Fang grumbled, muttering various swears under his breath. "Alright, fuckin' hell - you'd think the world was fallin' or sump'n, the way you two are rantin' on."

"We could always leave you here, you know." Dour snapped, glaring at Fang. "We've got a ship to catch in an hour."

"No way Dour!" Fang responded, suddenly sitting up. "…There's _no_ way I'm stayin' here if Argon and Argos are still kickin' about."

Spike sniggered behind his paw. "Aww, ain't he cute Dour? He's running from the bullies. What if they _follow_ you, what'll you do then? Hide in a dustbin? Ah wait, you already live in one!"

Dour sighed, knowing he couldn't do a thing to stop this developing Spike VS Fang argument. _'Oh… This better not happen every day…' _- Dour thought, attempting to ignore Fang's screaming retort back at Spike.

'…_Yeah… I'm on Fang's side this time… Spike doesn't know what it's like to be bullied… He's too cool and tough for that… Not like me…"_

* * *

"_Hey_, Schneider_!"_

"…_Agh! …R-Rox… W-What're you doing here?"_

"_It's a free island, Schneider, I've got the freedom to go wherever I damn well please."_

"…_Uh… …Well… W-What're you up to?"_

"…_Run."_

"……_What?"_

"_Run Schneider… You've got ten seconds before I kick the shit out of you. …Ten… Nine…"_

"_**AAAAAAARRGGHHH!!"**_

* * *

"Why don't you just piss off, Fang?! We don't need an irritating haemorrhoid like you following us about!"

"Shut the fuck up, Spike!" Dour yelled, saliva spraying from his mouth.

Spike stopped, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "…But Dour-"

"Just shut up Spike - you don't have a clue what it's like to have somebody following you around all the time, just wanting to beat you till you're bloody and crying! You don't know what it's like to be punched so hard in the stomach that you throw up your breakfast all over yourself!"

"Jeez Dour… Chill out, I was only-"

"No Spike! You don't have a clue what some people go through - you're so insensitive, it makes me _sick_!" Dour spat; wincing as he felt his right cheek burning.

"…Uh Dour?" Fang piped up, noticing Dour's scar beginning to appear from his face again. "…Your face is bleeding again…"

Dour growled, furiously wiping his cheek with his paw, smearing the blood across his nose. "Oh, why does it keep bleeding?!" He yelled, feeling the cold drips of liquid sliding down his chin.

"…I…It only s-seems to bleed when you g-get angry, D-Dour…" Fang stammered, dreadfully not wanting to get on Dour's bad side at this precise moment.

Just then, the door to the den swung open, and Azzurri stepped in. "…Are you boys alright? I heard- Dour?! What've you done?"

Dour grimaced slightly as Azzurri bent down to his level, trying to get a look at his bleeding cheek - though he wouldn't move his paw to let her see.

"No Azzurri! It's nothing…" Dour growled, not wanting to be fussed over.

"Don't be silly Dour, I need to have a look, it might be infected, move your paw!" Wrestling with the difficult Dour, Azzurri grabbed his paw with her tail, dragging it away from the scar.

Dour ground his teeth in fury as he felt Azzurri's soft paw stroke against the side of his face. "…Let me see Dour, is there a lot of blood? Was it an accident or-"

Azzurri suddenly gasped, wrenching away from Dour's face as if he were scalding hot. She held a trembling paw up, pointing at the scar in terror.

"…I…It's the Schneider symbol!"

"ARGH… It fuckin' _hurts!_" Dour screamed, seething agony now running through his skull.

"…Schneider symbol?" Spike gulped, noticing the pure fear painted upon Azzurri's face.

"…Y-Yes Spike… The a-ancient Schneider clan b-brand that symbol on their victims… Before they e-execute them…" Azzurri whimpered, taking several steps backwards.

"…Schneiders… They failed to execute me." Dour whispered, wiping the blood away from his face. He gritted his teeth, picking himself up from the floor.

His scar had stopped oozing blood, and was now shimmering menacingly amongst his glistening ebony fur.

Azzurri swallowed hard, attempting to pluck up her courage. She shuffled nervously over to Dour, and placed her paws firmly upon his shoulders.

"…Dour… Are you a member of the Schneider clan?" Azzurri asked, her voice shaking.

"…I… I don't know." Dour answered, fighting with his pain.

"…What's your surname?"

"…I can't remember it." Dour replied, blinking rapidly as he felt himself return to sanity. His scar had begun fading back into his flesh.

"What's the Schneider clan, Azzurri?" Spike asked, sitting up - his eyes bright with interest.

"Can you tell us, Azzurri?" Fang pleaded, also sounding oddly curious.

Azzurri chewed her lip awkwardly. "Well… From what I know…"

She swallowed hard, nodding her head bravely. "The Schneider clan… They're an ancient bloodline… Their blood runs through the veins of certain Houndour and Houndoom. Their first leader… He founded a clan made up of trusted members of his family, several hundred years ago, in the Sinnoh region…"

"And what did they do?" Fang asked, his ears pricked up intently.

"Well… I don't know much about them, but… I know that if anyone were to upset them, or speak of them wrongly… They'd be tortured and killed…"

"…Jeez… So they were a violent bunch?" Spike grimaced, glancing nervously at Dour.

"…I don't know how they operated, but if any family member was a traitor, or betrayed them in any way… Like they did with their victims, they'd cut the shape of a reversed S into their face, and kill them…" Azzurri said quietly, giving Dour's cheek an awkward glance.

"So basically, to be a part of their clan, you'd have to be a part of their family?" Spike asked, rubbing his chin in thought.

"Exactly Spike. There's even rumours that there's still Houndour and Houndoom with the Schneider surname, and the Schneider blood running through them." Azzurri mumbled, looking uncomfortably at Dour.

Dour spoke at last, standing up on his full four paws, looking up at Azzurri. "…And who told you this, _Azzurri Coniglio_?"

Azzurri looked slightly alarmed. "…H-How did you know my surname, Dour…?"

Spike grimaced, remembering when Dour had unexpectedly blurted out his full name to him. "…I dunno Azzurri; you'd never said it to us before."

Dour rubbed his chin thoughtfully, his eyes focused intently upon Azzurri. "…_Coniglio_… Italian origin, is it not?"

"…Well yes Dour… Both of my names are from Italian roots." Azzurri mumbled, feeling slightly intimidated by the way Dour was staring at her.

"…So Azzurri - how did you gain this information regarding the Schneider?"

Azzurri felt herself sweating. "…Uhh… Information gets passed around on the islands… Between all of the islands, there's hundreds of Pokémon who will all tell you hundreds of different stories… But nobody knows which story is correct."

Dour nodded politely, his usual timid tone now returning to his voice, as his eyes returned to their normal dark colour. "T-Thanks Azzurri, that's all I wanted to know."

Azzurri breathed a sigh of relief, hearing Dour's voice return to the one she'd heard before - the one that didn't strike a pang of fear within her heart.

"Well that was enlightening." Spike smiled, attempting to hide his sarcasm. "Is breakfast ready, Azzurri?"

* * *

"Oh, I'm going to miss you so much, Dour!" Azzurri exclaimed, squeezing Dour tightly within her arms, almost to the point where he was unable to breathe.

"…Erk, Azzurri! You're hurting!" Dour yelped, feeling his ribcage being crushed.

Azzurri smiled slightly, though her lip wobbled - as she set Dour back down upon his feet. "…Well, it's been interesting, boys."

"Aw c'mon Azz' - you'll see us around." Spike said gently, thumping her on the back supportively.

Azzurri nodded, quickly composing herself. "That's right. There's no telling where fate takes us - and who it leads us to meet. …Maybe I'll see you somewhere in Kanto. …It's about time I got myself off this island for a while."

"Yeah, why not take a vacation somewhere?" Spike suggested, smiling brightly. "I heard Seafoam Islands are awesome swimming spots. Perfect for you!"

"I might just consider that." Azzurri grinned, peering over Spike's shoulder, as the Seagallop Six pulled into the harbour.

"A'ight… They should open the cargo hold pretty soon - then we can jump in." Spike mused, watching several sailors exiting through the rear door of the ship, unloading several boxes of cargo and Pokémart merchandise.

"What's it like on these ships?" Fang asked, jumping up and down on the rickety pier - desperate to be noticed.

"T-They're _real_ fast." Dour mumbled; remembering how scary his first ride upon a Seagallop ship had been.

"Aw, _mint!_" Fang exclaimed, nodding his head in excitement. "I love fast things!"

'…_Oh, lord help me…'_ Dour thought, dreading the upcoming ride in a dark, damp cargo hold with both Spike and Fang together.

"Quick, _now!_" Spike hissed, noticing that all crew members had began their maintenance checks upon the front of the ship, and some were hauling crates onto a van - ready to transport.

"Farewell boys! Good luck too!" Azzurri called, diving off the pier into the murky oil-streaked water, hoping to evade attention from the passengers now disembarking the ship.

Dour, Spike and Fang all took in a deep-breath and sprinted across the pier as fast as their furry canine legs would carry them. They dove into the darkened cargo hold, ducking behind a huge wooden crate, a label stuck across it reading: 'Destination: Four Island'.

* * *

"Oh this is _awesome!_" Fang whooped, loving the exhilarating speed at which the ship was moving. Bottles and containers held firmly within the crates around them rattled loudly, sounding like an incoming stampede of Tauros.

"Keep your v-voice down, F-Fang…" Dour mumbled, feeling extremely nauseated.

"How can you not like this, Dour?!" Fang yelled, his bristly fur sticking straight up in the air as he continued to squeal in excitement.

"…_Shush _Fang!" Spike hissed, grabbing the Poochyena by his tail, plonking him firmly down upon the floor. "…We're stowaways - we can't let anybody know we're in here."

"…Why not?"

"…Because we'll get in trouble - idiot." Spike snapped, shaking his head at Fang's stupidity.

"…I h-hate moving fast like t-this…" Dour whimpered, holding his paws to his head to block out the roaring vibrations of the engine.

"…How come Dour?"

"…Because I-"

* * *

_Feeling exhausted, petrified and extremely violated - the nauseated and weakened Houndour continued running through the rough and craggy paths of Kin plains - knowing the next part of his gauntlet was about to come into view. _

_He'd managed to fight back his screams and tears for the previous sections that he'd ran though and survived - and his ordeals had left him filthy, terrified, bleeding, bruised and mentally scarred. _

_Dour Schneider felt a lump forming in the pit of his stomach as his next task came into view. _

_Standing on either side of the marked path that he was running - eighteen higher members of the Schneider clan stood on either side, holding rusted spears within their paws. The eighteenth, and final member stood on the line upon his right was his elder brother - a maniacal grin smeared across his jaws. _

_Dour Schneider gulped, knowing that if he dared to utter a sound, or let a single tear drip down his face - he would be sentenced to the shadows of shame, like all failing Schneider before him. _

* * *

"ARGH! The lights! What happened to the-"

Spike clapped his paws over Dour's screaming lips, forcing silence upon him. "…Shush Dour… There's probably just a fault in the wiring…"

Dour trembled, feeling his voice masked by Spike's furry hold, as several tears dripped down his face.

'…_But I don't like the dark…'_ Dour thought, trembling harshly with his back pressed against a crate. _'…M-Maybe that's why they wouldn't let me be a Schneider…'_

From another darkened corner came another voice, unknown to any of the canine trio. "…Who else is in here? I thought it was just me!"

Dour screamed from underneath Spike's paw - causing Spike to squeeze his paw tighter around Dour's mouth, muffling his sound even more.

"…Hey… There's three of us here…" Spike whispered, in response to the voice.

"…What are you? Pokémon or Trainers?"

"We're Pokémon…" Spike replied, still struggling to keep Dour quiet. "…An Eevee, a Poochyena and a Houndour."

"…W-What're you?" Fang whimpered, not wanting to even imagine what might be holding this new voice.

The voice gave out a gentle chuckle - as its owner stepped before the three, holding a small torch in his hand.

"I'm a Hypno." The Hypno smiled, his gentle, kind face illuminated by his torch glow. He was much bigger than the three creatures before him, with thick yellow skin, a long white beard around his mouth and a heavy white collar of curly fur around his neck.

"Well, that's different." Spike smiled, taking one of his paws away from Dour's mouth for the Hypno to shake it. "I'm Spike."

"I'm Tarot." Tarot grinned, shaking Spike's paw firmly. "Tarot Clio - psychic, medium, fortune teller extraordinaire!"

"Really?!" Fang exclaimed, bounding in front of Tarot giddily. "I love fortune-telling and all this creepy stuff!"

"Ah… That's a surprise, for one as young as you." Tarot grinned. "…No, don't introduce yourself… I'll read your mind - how's that?"

Fang looked like he was about to wet himself with joy. "Oh YES! Please Tarot!"

Tarot placed one of his huge hands upon Fang's head, closing his eyes as he concentrated intently. "Oh… Hmmmm… Your name… …It… It has four letters… …It… It starts with F… …F…Fa…Far… No… Aha! _Fang! _Your name is Fang!"

"Oh my GOD! You're amazing!" Fang whooped, his eyes shimmering brightly.

Tarot shrugged slightly, a smug smirk smeared across his lips. "Well of course… Just doing what comes oh-so-naturally to a psychic type."

"Can you guess my surname, though?" Fang asked, nodding rapidly as he issued Tarot this new challenge.

"Oh, I don't even have to work that one out." Tarot laughed smugly. "Your surname is _Magnayen!_"

Fang gasped, taking a step backwards in surprise. "…How… How did you know that?! You didn't even touch me that time!"

Tarot smiled, flicking the tuft of hair that hung down between Fang's eyes. "You have the Magnayen parting. Everybody in your family has fur like this, don't they?"

"I think so…" Fang mumbled, trying to remember the fur partings of his old family members.

Tarot turned to Spike. "And you're _obviously_ an Evoli!"

Spike smirked, nodding proudly. "Aye, that I am. Let me guess, you saw the Evoli nose?"

Tarot nodded, laughing merrily. "Yeah, there's your nose - and you have a little kink in your left ear. A lot of male Evoli have that."

Spike raised a paw to where Tarot had mentioned, fumbling to feel for a misshape in his ear flesh. "…Aw yeah! You're right! Heh, I'd never noticed that before…"

Tarot glanced over to Dour, before looking back to Spike. "…He can stop screaming now… I'm not going to hurt him."

Spike looked at Dour - who he still held his paw to his mouth. "If you promise not to scream anymore, I'll take my paw away."

Dour nodded sheepishly, now feeling embarrassed about the way he'd reacted to the lights going off. Spike frowned, removing his paw from Dour's mouth - it now feeling uncomfortably moist from Dour's saliva.

Tarot focused his stare upon Dour, trying to find a distinguishing trait upon his person. "You… You're a… Ahh!"

Tarot suddenly gasped, taking a step backwards in alarm. "…You're a _Schneider!?_"

"…W-What's so surprising about t-that?" Dour stammered - his previous reactions to Azzurri's Schneider stories now totally forgotten.

Tarot held a hand to his chest, his eyebrows raised in concern. "…Ach… You surprised me for a second there, young Schneider… …It's just rare you come across them - ever since their clan leader disappeared."

Dour gritted his teeth, his eyes changing to a smouldering ember-red. "…Jürgen is gone?!"

Tarot, who seemed totally unfazed by Dour's sudden change of demeanour, responded without hesitation: "Yes… There's been tales travelling around these Sevii Islands - Jürgen Schneider III… He has vanished from the clan."

"Well… W-What's happened to him?!" Dour demanded, his voice trembling in rage.

"I don't have any idea, young Schneider." Tarot responded, shrugging heavily. "If I knew of his condition or whereabouts, I would promptly tell you."

"…Who's that?" Fang asked, his curiosity returning. "That… Jürgen guy?"

Dour looked disgusted. "…How can you not say that name without trembling in absolute terror?! Jürgen Schneider - he is the great and coveted leader of us Schneider… He leads our reign, he controls our wills… Everything our pathetic lives stand for - we risk it all to please him!"

"Wow, now that's loyalty!" Spike exclaimed, sounding impressed. "I don't reckon the old Evoli clan ever stood up to their leader… At least, that's what Gramps told me."

"_Naturally_, Ernest." Dour growled. "The Evoli clan was nothing but a mere flimsy and disorganised society, ran by the weak and the idiotic."

"…Are you insulting my family?!" Spike screamed, grabbing Dour by the throat. "Nobody insults my fuckin' family!"

"Whoa!" Tarot yelled, grabbing Spike with his left hand, Dour by his right. "…There's no need for this, boys! The old ways of the clan were in ancient times. Some of them might still exist and operate under our noses - but what happened in the past, happened in the past… There's no use dwelling on the past in the present, is there?"

Dour blinked, his eyes fading back to a pitiful umber. "…Wha… What just happened?"

Tarot grimaced, leaning across to Spike, whispering in his ear: "…You need to be careful with that one, Spike… He's got Schneider blood in him, alright…"

* * *

"Hey Tarot…?"

"Yes Fang?"

"You know how you said you could like… Predict the future and stuff? D'ya reckon you could tell us our futures? _Pleeeeeeease?!"_ Fang begged, looking up admirably at Tarot.

Tarot laughed softly, sitting himself down comfortably with the three boys. "Of course Fang. I won't charge you boys, either."

"Aw, _mint!_" Fang giggled. "That's good though, 'cause I don't have any money on me, anyway..."

"Alright boys…" Tarot announced, taking out a pack of cards. "What would you like to see?"

"What can you show us?" Spike asked, seeming very interested.

"Oh, anything… I can help you find missing things, missing people, I can tell who what your next disappoint will be… I can tell you the next person to change your life…"

"Oh yeah! That one!" Fang called, bouncing up and down. "That people-changing-your-life thingy!"

"Very well then." Tarot grinned, laying out his cards, face-down in a neat curve upon the floor. "Whoever would like to go first, pick a card, and I'll tell you who you're going to meet next - and how they'll change your life."

"Save the best till last!" Fang giggled. "I'll go third."

"…I don't wanna go first…" Dour mumbled, glancing nervously at Tarot's cards.

"Oh fine, you sissies. I'll go first." Spike announced smugly, taking one of the cards.

"Alright, don't look at it - hand it to me." Tarot instructed.

Spike did as he was told, and Tarot glanced at it, nodding sincerely. "Ah. You've got 'The Joyful Twelve'." - He held up a card with twelve crosses printed upon it.

"So what does that mean?" Spike asked, resting his head upon his paws, not removing his intent gaze.

"The Joyful Twelve… You're soon to meet someone who will change your life for the better. Your days will soon be filled with uncontrollable joy and happiness - and the sun will always seem to shine on you."

"That'll make a change." Spike muttered. "Hey…! Does that mean I'll find Emily?!" - Spike's expression suddenly changed.

Tarot smiled warmly. "Ah, I'll leave that to be a nice surprise for you, Spike."

Dour gulped, drawing his card next. He held it gingerly, as if it were covered with flesh-eating bacteria.

Tarot took it from him, smiling softly. "Ah… This isn't so good… Dour, you've drawn 'The Vengeful Six'."

"Ergh…" Dour grimaced, biting his lip. "…So what does that mean?"

"…It seems that someone who is angry at you is due to return… I cannot fully tell what will occur… However… It doesn't seem to be something that a Houndour like yourself will not be able to survive."

Dour sighed, not feeling even the slightest bit consoled by Tarot's attempt to comfort him about this incoming doom.

"Bad luck Dour!" Fang mocked, reaching for his card. "My turn!"

Tarot shook his head slightly, taking the card from Fang. "…Ah Fang… Another not so good one."

"…What do I have?"

"You've got 'The Thoughtless Seven'." Tarot smiled, holding up a card with seven crosses.

"Aww _man! _Why does _Spike_ get the good stuff, and I get stuck with the shitty 'Thoughtless Seven'?!" Fang pouted, folding his paws across his chest.

Tarot groaned, scratching his beard in thought. "…Fang, 'The Thoughtless Seven' means that you're going to encounter one from your past. They'll know something you want to know, but they'll be insensitive, and indeed, _thoughtless _about sharing their information with you."

"Oh well…" Fang mumbled, trying to twist Tarot's words into making him seem superior.

"At least I didn't get no shitty Vengeful Six! I'm gonna get some information! Dour's stuck with some random beating!" Fang laughed loudly, glancing in Dour's direction.

"Unlucky Dour!"

* * *

**A/N: -** This section with the cards was dedicated to a faithful reviewer, and excellent forum moderator: **Thoughtless7!**

* * *


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